"Well, that didn't take long," Chuck whispered.
The sun was barely beginning to peek above the horizon when they heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. It was obviously German, and Chuck and Sarah watched as it pulled off the road and stopped. Soldier exited from the back gate as an officer got out of the passenger side of the cab. He supervised while the soldiers unloaded what looked like civilians, about ten men and women.
"No children," Sarah noted.
Both of them knew exactly what they were witnessing. These ten people were about to be executed, and the reason for it could have been significant or it could have been as simple as they looked at Nazi wrong.
"Five Germans," Chuck counted. "They're going to make them dig their own graves, Sarah."
He was right. The soldiers had flung shovels at the people's feet and ordered them to begin digging.
"We have to stop them," he added quietly after a moment.
"I know," Sarah agreed. "What's the plan?"
"We have the element of surprise. We have to get close enough before we break cover."
Knowing time was of the upmost essence, they quickly worked together to formulate a plan.
"I've got your back," Chuck promised as they were about to separate to put their plan into action.
"I know," Sarah kissed him.
Chuck smiled, squeezed her hand, and turned and left. Sarah returned her attention the targets, her mask slipping over her face subconsciously.
Sarah approached quietly, using all her training. If any of the civilians had spotted her, they hadn't told the Germans. She knew if she was discovered now, there was almost no chance she didn't end up in the mass grave herself.
Luck was on her side as she was soon within striking distance of the German officer, who was smoking a cigarette while he supervised the preparations for his morning murders. She reached to the small of her back, gripping her pistol tightly, as she stepped up right behind him. She clamped her left hand around his throat while using her right to lift the barrel of her gun right up to the side of his head.
"Drop them," she commanded the other four Nazis who were now aware of what was happening in German. By this time, Chuck had appeared, pointing his weapon at the Germans. "Right now, or I blow the Obersturmfuhrer's head off."
The Nazi Lieutenant just nodded to his men, who looked between him, Chuck and Sarah and finally laid down their weapons.
Chuck quickly grabbed the guns as the Nazis went to their knees, hands behind their heads. Once they were of no more threat, she let the Lieutenant go with a hard kick to the back of his knees, making him fall to the ground. She and Chuck kept their weapons trained on the Germans.
Switching from German to Dutch, Sarah finally spoke to the people whose lives they'd just saved.
"You can come out of the hole," she told them. "We're not going to hurt you. We're Americans."
At her pronouncement, everyone, including the Germans, looked stunned.
"Americans?" One of the Dutch men asked in English.
"Yes," she nodded. "My partner and I are here to help."
"Don't say anything in front of the Germans," he warned her with wide eyes.
"Don't worry about them," Sarah waved him off. "That hole you started digging? They're going to finish it."
"You heard the lady," Chuck gently kicked one of the German soldiers. "Get off your asses and start digging."
The Germans, not fully unaware of what was happening, followed their orders. All five got into the hole and began to keep digging out the dirt, each motion bringing them closer and closer to their inevitable deaths. They thought they were coming out here to execute some Dutch people, and now, thanks to the sudden appearance of two Americans, found themselves the ones with the short end of the stick.
"Why are you in Holland?" The Dutch man asked as they all watched the Nazis dig with satisfaction.
"We're looking for the resistance," Chuck answered. "From the situation here, I'm guessing you're no friend of the Krauts."
"You are correct," he nodded. "I'm Jan. I'm actually the head of the resistance for this area. We were betrayed by one of our own when the Nazis threatened to kill his mother. They brought us out here to kill us."
"I'm glad they didn't get the chance," Chuck responded. "I'm Chuck." He stuck out his hand and Jan shook it. "And this is my partner, Sarah."
Jan shook Sarah's hand and introduced them to every one else. Jan explained it was their entire resistance cell. Chuck and Sarah had inadvertently stumbled onto their execution, foiled it, and saved their lives. They hadn't even been in country for a day yet.
After about ten more minutes, Sarah decided the Germans had dug far enough and told them to stop. They threw the shovels out of the hole, seemingly resigned to their fate. Only the officer still stood proudly, even buttoning up his uniform and smoothing the front of it out. He straightened out his cap and stood at attention.
"Here, Jan," Sarah quietly said as she handed him one of the German's MP-40s. "You and your people have been fighting these monsters for years."
"Yes, we have," Jan nodded, staring at the Germans. Before he could act, four of his compatriots also grabbed guns, standing next to him. They didn't want him to shoulder the burden alone. They'd all take it, together. Sarah and Chuck watched in amazement, backing away, holding hands.
They made it quick for the Germans, spraying the hole with enough bullets to make sure everyone was dead. One of the younger Dutch fighters, whose name Chuck was sure was Max, jumped into the whole and made sure all five Nazis had been sent to hell.
"Thank you," Jan told Chuck and Sarah when it was over. "We are going to clean this up. Please, let us give you food and shelter."
"We'll help," Chuck instantly replied. "And some food sounds great."
They all worked together to fill the hole and hide the truck as best they could. Jan explained that as far as he knew, the German Lieutenant hadn't told anyone else about the resistance cell. However, just to be extra safe, he was going to take Chuck and Sarah to a safe house they'd never used before.
As they began to walk through the fields to the safe house, Jan came up alongside Chuck and Sarah.
"Why were you looking for the resistance?" He asked.
"We're invading Holland," Sarah answered. Jan's eyes widened. "The brass thinks if we take Holland, we can get to Berlin faster," she explained. "Chuck and I were sent here to find the resistance and work with them to disrupt the Nazis before the invasion. We did the same thing in France."
By this time, Max had also joined them, standing next to Jan. The two of them shared a look, and it told Sarah everything she needed to know.
"Tell me," Jan began, "do the Americans always send agents who are in love?"
Sarah surprised everyone by just laughing quietly.
"You're good, Jan," she admitted. "Chuck and I are married. But we're also partners, and right now we're on a very important mission."
"I saw how you work together," Jan assured. "We are lucky to have you both on our side."
"So, Jan," Sarah grinned, and Chuck couldn't figure out why until she spoke. "How old was your son when you finally let him join the resistance?"
Jan stopped dead in his tracks, causing all of them to stop. He just looked at Sarah, then to Max, then back to Sarah, finally returning her grin.
"You're good," he repeated what she'd just told him.
"No, she's the bet," Chuck chimed in.
"Thanks baby," she smiled at him. "Come on guys, let's get going. I'm hungry."
It took them another hour and change to reach the safe house. It was a small, quaint farm house decidedly out of view of the main road.
Jan instructed Chuck and Sarah to take one of the bedrooms upstairs and rest while he and the others cooked food for all of them.
After going through their gear again, and making sure all of their weapons were in working order, they finally laid down on the bed together.
"You were incredible today, Sarah," Chuck told her honestly.
"Thanks," she whispered unsurely.
"You're so brave."
"Chuck," she almost huffed. "The only reason I'm able to do any of that now is because I know you have my back. I wouldn't have been able to do it if I didn't know you were right next to me."
He was about to reply when she put a finger to his lips, stopping him.
"I know. I know you'll always be there. You don't have to say it, I know it Chuck."
He just smiled as she reached up and pulled him into a long kiss. When they parted, she snuggled in as close as she could to him.
"That was pretty lucky, saving Jan and all today," he broke the silence a few minutes later. She nodded against his chest. "Sarah, why did you give the gun to Jan to shoot those Nazis?"
She slowly raised her head to look into his eyes. She expected to find confusion in them, but found only love.
"I didn't want to do it," she whispered. "If it had been in the moment, and it was us or them, then I wouldn't have hesitated. But not like that. I can't do that anymore."
The pain in her voice broke his heart. She was struggling, and as her husband, it was now his job to do everything in his power to help her.
"I love you," he blurted out. "You had every right to kill them, and nobody, especially me, could say anything about it. If you're worried if it would make me love you less, you're wrong. Nothing could make me love you any less. Having said that, I'm incredibly proud of you. After everything you've seen in this war, everything you and I have been through, you haven't lost yourself. You're still you. And I love all of you."
Sarah paused to blink away the tears that formed in her eyes. When she found she couldn't stem the onslaught, she buried her face into Chuck's chest and let it out. He just calmly stroked her hair and waited patiently.
"I love you," she finally said when she was composed enough to talk again. "You see so much in me, and I desperately want to be all of it. Help me, Chuck. Please, help me be the person you see."
"You already are," he whispered as he framed her face in his hands and kissed her.
"Chuck?" She mumbled between fervent kisses.
"Hmm?" He was able to growl back.
"Go see if there's a lock on that door."
A/N: Sorry about the delay between the last chapter and this one. I had a small writer's block about how I wanted them to meet the resistance, so I hope it turned out okay. Now they have to do whatever they can to fuck up the Nazis' shit before the invasion. A little warning – you might need a little suspension of disbelief soon. I want to make the action really fun, and in order to do that, our characters need to do things that are pretty unbelievable. But hey, this is based on a TV show about a dude with a computer in his head, so what the hell?
I really hope everyone reading this is safe and healthy. These are truly weird times, with the entire world seemingly stuck between sheer terror and casual acceptance. I'm just lucky to live in a country that is taking it very seriously, and I feel comfortable and safe.
PLEASE, READ, REVIEW, and WASH YOUR HANDS!
