Chapter 11
Bill was my first choice to follow me into enemy territory. He was a real soldier. Don't get me wrong, the rest of Easy company was made up of fully skilled soldiers that I am proud to serve with. It's just that Bill has something the rest don't have, something that cannot be taught. He has the right mindset and thinking process- he doesn't feel fear. I saw it the first time I saw him spar with Joe Toye. There's emotion in the eyes, everyone has it- except a select few. Bill is the only person aside from my brother and I that possesses it. He was born to be a soldier. It is something I wish I didn't have. After I was put in charge of my own elite unit, the switch between emotionless killer and normal Ana has become more pronounced. I could turn the switch on and wipe out a whole platoon with precision or I could become the Ana that I want to be once this war is over- the Ana that Joe fell in love with. When I mentioned to Joe before we jumped, about losing Ron to his bloodlust- it wasn't just Ron I was worried for. It's in our genes to become ruthless, emotionless killers.
I thought of this as Bill and I approached the town from the dark forest that surrounded it. We were lightly watching our step encase of sentry's listening. I motioned for Bill to stop and crouch down when I saw a small break in the trees that would be a good vantage point to look down onto the town. Bill kept guard as I unravelled my binoculars and looked down at Carentan. I couldn't make out anything distinctive. The town was quiet, no sound of civilians or soldiers alike. No light either that I could see. They had blackout material on the windows- smart. I lowered my binoculars and frowned at the town that was not telling me anything. These Germans are good, and they seem to not just be normal infantry. I had nothing to come back to Lewis about- no number of soldiers, no information about firepower or positions. But I will not let this be a wasted trip.
I motioned for Bill to look through the binoculars while I watched our backs. He pulled back after a moment and nodded at me in understanding. He knew what we were going to do. Bill reminded me a lot of myself. When the distinct sound of leaves being crushed under boots reached our ears we immediately popped our heads up at the sound then proceeded to crawl on our bellies to some cover by a bush. We watched as a half-dressed German man walked noisily over to a tree and proceeded to open the fly on his pants so that he could take a piss. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and disappointment. I can't believe that I honestly thought that the Germans would not at least make it harder for us. I motioned for Bill to look out before I broke cover and crept soundlessly behind the German which I could now smell stank of alcohol. Before he could turn around, I already had slit his throat and he choked on his own blood. I dragged his body from under his armpits towards the cover of the trees where Bill was, and he helped me to cover him up in the foliage. I soon rid the ground of the drag marks by my shoe before I motioned for Bill to follow me towards the darkness of the town. We got to the tree line of where the forest ended, and the town began. I saw the familiar dark helmet of a German approaching our position- maybe looking for where his friend went. If that was true, then we don't have much more time before we're discovered. Bill soon noiselessly discarded the German as soon as he reached our concealed position. We must move fast before their buddies start to miss them. I quickly checked that the coast was clear before motioning for Bill to head towards the nearest house to us, it looked like it was a pharmacy. I followed Bill and quietly twisted the knob to the door and it opened easily, we listened out for any alarmed shouts or noise but heard none, so I cautiously entered first with Bill on my six. Bill closed the door after us to avoid suspicion and we quietly crept around the house and searched the rooms but couldn't find anything- breathing or not. That was until we heard voices coming from the cellar. And then footsteps on the stairs. I signalled for Bill to hide and just enough time to conceal myself before I heard the cellar door open. The unmistakably sound of the Germans boots was loud against the wooden floorboards as I heard him enter the tiled floor of the kitchen. I peeked round the wall to see the back of his head and his uniform in pristine condition- unlike his other fallen comrade who was half dressed. He's an officer- a valuable hostage for information. I carefully broke my cover and crept up behind him slowly with my knife out by my side. Something must have given me away because he whirled around fast with a knife of his own in his hand. I lunged at him, hoping to subdue him quickly but he leant back and then took a swing at me. I bashed his hand against the steel sink hard and he dropped the knife with a loud clutter. I then dodged a punch to the face while I tugged him down to the floor on his belly. His mouth opened to yell for help but before he could I pressed the knife hard against his neck in warning.
"If you let out a sound, I will kill you and then drop a few grenades down the cellar for your buddies." I told him in near perfect German. He stopped struggling after that. I motioned for Bill to help haul him up with me. I then got out the duct tape and put it over his mouth, just encase. I let Bill take point in clearing for our exit. I took one last look at the cellar where the rest of the Germans are before exiting the house after Bill announced it was clear back to the forest. As much as I wanted to kill the rest of them- we had a mission to do and that entails getting out alive. Like I told Dick and Lew, my objective was not to start a firefight. Bill took point the rest of the way back to camp while I had a hold of the prisoner. The 506th was to attack Carentan at first light and we only had a couple of hours left.
We reached Easy company's position with time to spare. Many of the men were still dozing when we walked past them all to the officer's position in the middle of the company. Only lookouts were awake which happened to be Joey among a few. I locked eyes with Joe and winked at him as he saw me hauling the German officer past the sleeping men.
"Sirs." Guarnere greeted when he reached Dick and Lew, who were awake and going over the map of the town. Lew and Dick looked up to see Bill leading me and the German officer behind.
"Ana, we were about to think that you were not going to show up for the big party." Lew teased while eyeing the German Officer with glee.
"I'm never late but I do have a present for you." I sang lightly before releasing my hold on the German and letting him fall to the ground with a huff and grunt.
"Was that necessary?" Dick questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Da," I replied immediately "If you don't need me I'm going to take a nap, wake me when I'm needed." I turned and started to walk away before I heard the rough German voice.
"I should have known you're a whore Russian bitch, I hope the fuhrer kills you all. Russia will crumble into nothing." The German voice said with malice. I froze for a second before turning on my heel and walked back towards the German. I crouched down to his eye level as he was still kneeling on the ground.
"Russia will rise again, and Hitler will probably die a coward in a dark little hole somewhere." I replied in German- surprising Lew and Dick as well as shocking the German at my retort. I walked away immediately after before my temper got the better of me I found Joe, still awake, waiting for me.
"You went into Carentan?" Joe questioned with concern. I nodded as I laid down next to him, I used my pack as a pillow for my head.
"That was risky." Joe commented, clearly holding back something from me. I knew what it was, I can always read Joe just like he can read me since we've spent nearly all our free time together since we got to England in 1943.
"I know you're worried about me but don't be, I'm always fine." I said trying to reassure him. Joe scoffed.
"Well one-day Ana, you might not be- you're not invincible." Joe retorted with a frown and hard glint to his voice.
"I know-" I started to say before Joe cut me off.
"No you don't know, I want to take you back to the states with me- breathing preferably." Joe passionately said surprising me. I blinked in shock.
"You want me to come home with you?" I asked hesitantly. Joe's face softened at my uncertain tone.
"Of course, my family will love you- especially my ma." Joe explained while turning his head away from me towards the sky. I carried on watching him like he is the only thing that matters.
"I would love to come home with you," I whispered to him, Joe turned his head back to me and smiled widely at my admission. "I promise I'll come to San Francisco- breathing." I quietly promised. I reached out and squeezed Joe's hand in comfort. Not confident enough to do more since we were surrounded by soldiers who could report us for inappropriate behaviour.
A clearing of a throat broke us from our moment of bliss and I immediately dropped Joe's hand out of instinct. My beating heart calmed when I saw that it was only Bill. Joe's concerned face reminded me that he didn't know that Bill knows about us.
"Everything's okay." I reassured Joe before getting up off the ground.
"Sorry to disturb you Ana but the officers want you." Bill explained apologetically. I nodded and shot him a small smile to show that I wasn't annoyed. Bill followed me towards Harry, Lew, Dick and Major Strayer.
"I hope you managed to get some rest Ana." Dick greeted, I shrugged with indifference. I've survived with much less rest than normal.
"Not really." I replied, I could see Bill trying to hide his smirk. I glared at him before the officers got wind of something they shouldn't have.
"That's too bad, that officer you handed to us on a silver platter was useful. We are looking at a company of fallschirmjäger, Paratroopers." Lew informed us before he walked over to stand next to Bill and I. "The other companies pulled out a few hours ago, no heavy guns or artillery from what the German told us." Lew explained with a thoughtful look.
"That's interesting." I commented while viewing the map of the town that held so much importance.
"Isn't it just?" Lew grinned knowingly. Strayer huffed in annoyance.
"Would you two care to share?" Strayer asked while Bill, Dick and Welsh looked at our reaction with a questionable look.
"They are waiting for us to capture the town." Lew explained.
"Why?" Harry questioned, confused.
"Carentan is as important to them as it is to us, they won't just 'let it go' without much of a fight. They could have moved the other companies because they knew we had superior strength and they are waiting in a fall-back position, ready to counter-attack which would mean that they have reinforcements coming." I explained, while thoughtfully pondering over the map. The rest were going over the plan of the taking of the town. Easy was going in first from the East while Fox will enter from the West with Dog behind us. The other companies are in reserve encase we encounter fiercer resistance than expected. Welsh volunteered him and first platoon to take lead. When we were all done with the plan, it was nearly time to get into position.
"Ana, take Shifty and find a good spot to set up your nest." Dick ordered after the boys were in position, concealed on the road to Carentan by a small hill. I nodded in understanding before making my way down the line to reach Shifty.
"Shifty, you've been assigned to me- let's go!" I ordered when I finally found him
"Yes ma'am." He immediately replied before following me into the nearby field, away from the men.
"We are going to go into Carentan when the others start their assault and find a vantage point to take out as many Germans as we can." I explained, while we trudged through the over grown grass. As soon as we got to the edge of town we stopped and crouched behind a bush, waiting for Welsh to charge in with first platoon. It seemed like an hour wait but in reality, it was much less. We heard the pounding of multiple boots on the ground before the unmistakable sound of MG fire opened up. I growled in annoyance and decided to pop my head up to see what kind of resistance the German's were putting up. From where we are, I could only see the spray of gunfire coming from the Normandie Café and only small arms fire being returned from somebody I couldn't see. I couldn't see the rest of the company anywhere.
"What the heck are they playing at." I mumbled to myself, confused as to what is going on.
"Shifty wait here, I'm going to sneak in and see what's going on- I'll call for you once it's clear." I told him. Shifty nodded in understanding before I got up and leaped over the bush. I stuck to the wall while I watched for snipers as I crept into town. I knew almost all the Germans would be in cover in the buildings- which made it harder for me to pinpoint their positions before they fire on me. I whistled loudly for Shifty to join me and was relieved to see other soldiers starting to assault the town too. A short pop sounded, and a man was shot in the head as soon as he entered the gate. I narrowed my eyes in anger before I made out where the sniper was and shot him before he even knew I was there. Shifty then proceeded to shoot the gunner on the MG42 that was still pinning our guys down before his crew member turned the machine gun in our direction. I pushed Shifty back quickly against the metal wire fence, with my front to his front to keep him safe. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and barred the horrible few seconds of bullets barley missing us. The gunfire from the MG soon stopped at the sound of a grenade exploding and I finally let out a breath of relief.
"Shifty, Ana you guys okay?" I heard Lipton shout. I turned around and smiled at seeing Lipton with Perconte and Skinny right behind. Shifty held up a thumb to show that we are fine.
"Where the hell you guys been?" I asked loudly, trying to speak over the sound of gunfire and grenades going off.
"We had some motivational issues, it's been sorted," Lipton simply said "We gotta take that warehouse!" Lipton ordered before running up to the wall outside the building and taking cover behind it encase of enemy gunfire.
"Shifty, hammer those windows." Lipton ordered, while checking for movement in the windows. Shifty shot out the windows but there was no returning fire. I glanced behind me and smiled at seeing Joe's unmistakable form running into Carentan with Tipper behind.
"Lipton, clear the warehouse- Shifty on me!" I ordered when I saw the rest of the company pouring into the town in force. I ran in the direction of the café de Normandie, Shifty on my heel. I saw Luz and Hoobler as I past, clearing houses with grenades. When I reached the high clocktower, I grinned in delight. I could see the whole town from this position. We ran up the high stairs and immediately started setting up shop when we got to the top. We started to pick off any visible Germans before a huge explosion was heard and I could see the flying of dirt in the air to signal that the Germans have Artillery zeroed in on our positions. I looked through my scope to see where they are, but I couldn't get them as they concealed themselves away from our range. When I saw Lipton get hit, I moved with the intention of going down to help before I saw Talbert help to patch him up and move him to the aid station. I noted briefly that Liebgott and Tipper had entered the pharmacy to clear it and then decided to concentrate on picking of some Germans who decided to flee the town. The next thing I heard was an amplified explosion as the Pharmacy took a direct hit.
Suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Everything seemed to slow down. The bullets flew through the air slower, the flames of the explosions sizzled less, and the men seemed to be paused in time. My vision blurred for a second before I shook my head and stumbled to the stairs as quickly as I could. I'm sure I mumbled to Shifty that I was going down before I clumsily stumbled down the steep stairs. Miraculously, managing to not break my neck. I felt like I was in a nightmare that wasn't stopping. As soon as my boots hit the ground I was sprinting. Sprinting past the soldiers, past the bodies that littered the streets and even past the continued Artillery fire because nothing mattered but Joe. Joe is all that's on my mind.
I paused 15 feet away from the pharmacy. There was a soldier crouching over another soldier, I couldn't see their faces. Two other soldiers were standing up and staring at the soldier on the ground in shock. I thought the worst, Joe's dead. It wasn't until I heard his husky familiar voice that I let air back into my lungs.
"Guys you wanna give me a hand here, come on." Joe looked up at that moment and locked eyes with me. When his whiskey brown eyes met mine, I felt a range of emotions that I had never felt before. The relief I felt was almost overwhelming that my legs nearly gave out. My eyes involuntarily watered but before I could approach Joe and the others I was called away and I reluctantly left while discreetly wiping my tear-filled eyes with the sleeve of my uniform. I nearly forgot where I was. Now is not the time to stop everything and run into Joe's arms, the town hasn't been won yet.
It took another hour for the town to be cleared of the fallschirmjäger company. The men were resting up as much as they could before we moved out again. I saw most of them lounging across the main square of the town. Moore, Muck, Penkala, Malarkey and Blithe were conversing about something with great humour before my brother approached and ruined their fun, by the drop of their faces.
I soon saw Joe emerge from the makeshift aid station, following behind a stretcher that held Tipper. I watched as Joe bid farewell to Tipper, Joe's face was creased, and I could tell it was causing him pain to say goodbye to Tipper like this. They were close friends throughout training and Sobel. I caught Joe's eye when he looked around the town, after Tippers transport took off. I raised an eyebrow and then walked over to a house that I know is empty of soldiers. I could hear Joe's footsteps behind me after a minute.
As soon as I saw him walk into the house, I shut the door behind him immediately and pushed him up against the stone wall. I cupped his face in my hands and checked to see if he was alright underneath all the dirt and grime that marred his beautiful skin. He immediately reached out to me and cupped my face in his hands too and rested his forehead against mine, trying to comfort us both.
"I saw the pharmacy blow up and I thought…" I broke the silence, my voice cracking at the end. Not even able to finish my sentence, even the thought gave me too much pain. Joe ran his hand through my hair and pulled me to him in a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, tightly keeping a hold of him to remind myself that he was still here in one piece.
"I'm fine Liebling, I'm ok." Joe reassured me while running his hand down my back softly. I nodded in agreement, but I still didn't want to let go. The scent of Joe was the only thing keeping my heart from stopping right now. If Joe died, I don't know what I'll do. That's a lie, I know exactly what I'll do, and it wouldn't be pretty. I would try and kill every German in the vicinity and I wouldn't care who he was or how I did it. I would just shut down and rely on the dark side of myself that I keep locked away from everyone.
"Ana," I heard called from outside.
"Has anyone seen Captain Belikova?" I heard Lew ask from nearby. I reluctantly let go of Joe with a frown. I gave him a small smile to reassure him that I feel a bit better before I exited the house in a hurry in case anyone decided to go house searching for me.
I stepped out into the town courtyard and found Nixon on the other side of the square. I made my way towards him while trying to pat my uniform down of dirt and smoke with little to no success. I saw Ron from the corner of my eye and gave him a nod in acknowledgement. I was still angry about the stunt he pulled with the German prisoners of war and I was wary about what he knew regarding my radio.
"You are looking for me?" I asked Lew and Harry who were leaning against a jeep as if it was just a Saturday day out.
"There you are princess, Dick wants you in the CP tent." Lew said while waving goodbye to Harry. I nodded and started walking with Lew to the tent that was recently put up, considering most of the buildings were destroyed or were not structurally sound anymore. We entered the tent to find Colonel Sink, Dick, Major Strayer and a few other officers from the 506th.
"Good of you to join us Captain, Lieutenant." Sink said before he proceeded to talk. We gathered around a wooden table with a large map covered the entire face.
"From what our German office friend has told us is worrying. Other German companies pulled out last night and left the town with minimal defence. We must assume they left to counter-attack after they get reinforcements. Our job is to hold onto the town and defend it from German attack. Dog, Easy and Fox are going to move up here and find a vantage point to set up defences. With most of the fields flooded there is only so many directions they can come from." Sink briefed us. We nodded in acknowledgement.
"What about the chances of them getting armour as back up?" I asked seriously, while staring at the map in deep concentration.
"According to reports there is no armour in this area." Sink told us. I huffed in frustration.
"Yes but armour can be moved, and I don't entirely trust the reports given to us prior to the invasion, things can be missed. We are only light infantry, if there is armour facing us the best weapon we have is a bazooka." I explained to him. Thinking of the worst-case scenario. If they really want this town they would use armour as back up. It's what I would do, and no one has ever called the German army stupid. I could see Dick frowning at the scenario I was laying out for the rest of them while Lew was thinking about what I was saying.
"It is very possible we could be facing armour sir." Lew sided with me.
"If we are, we are going to need time. 2nd Armoured isn't going to be able to reach our position till midday tomorrow." Sink told us, while rolling up the map. I nodded with a frown. If the Germans had armour, we would have to improvise with what we've got.
"Dismissed everyone, we're rolling out." Sink said. We saluted before leaving the tent to gather up the men.
"Easy company on your feet! We're moving out!"
Sorry for the delay everyone! It has been a hectic few months! I'm definitely going to finish this story I just don't know when!
Hope you like this chapter and as always tell me what you think!
