Disclaimers: all the usual apply.
Chapter 16
Joe POV
Sitting on the grassy bank at Brecourt with the handful of Easy men that had made it so far, he subtly scanned the face of each new arrival, the knot in his stomach tightening with every unfamiliar face.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon.
He sighed and lit his fourth cigarette in the last hour. He needed to be careful or he'd run out before the day was done.
When he'd arrived at Brecourt he'd half expected Easy to be waiting for him, ready to give him grief for being late. He'd very quickly realised he was one of the first to make it. As men had trickled in, some from Easy but most from other Companies, he'd started to keep a mental list, matching names and faces.
John and two replacements had been the first to arrive from Arlene's team. They'd asked around, but no one had seen the rest of the men or either woman.
Where are you?
He was about to go find John to ask him what he knew, an awkward conversation he wasn't really looking forward to, when another group of soldiers entered his field of vision. This time he recognised the faces and was immediately on his feet, cigarette thrown to the ground.
"Easy Company!" he greeted the men, clasping Popeye's hand.
He quickly ticked a few names off of his list, Guarnere, Popeye, Toye, Lipton and Winters.
"So nice of you to join us," he said.
"Yeah-yeah, while you were getting some beauty sleep we were actually doing work," Guarnere retorted.
He rolled his eyes. "You see anybody else?"
Bill nodded as he waited for Toye to light the cigarette stuck between his lips.
"Ran into Arlene and Captain King on the way in," Toye answered, flipping his lighter closed.
Before he could stop himself he asked, "Where? When?"
Guarnere and Toye shared a look. "Just as we came in. John had stopped them as they'd come in. They haven't been here long," Guarnere said.
He nodded and casually looked over the men's heads in the direction from where they'd come.
Guarnere smirked. "She's changing."
"What?"
"They were wearing civilian clothes. Their boys brought their kit," Guarnere clarified.
"They're over there," Toye said, pointing towards a small cluster of what looked like sheds.
He pursed his lips and nodded, firmly planting his feet into the ground so they didn't move of their own free will.
"Oh for God's sake!" Guarnere exclaimed, throwing his head back as if saying something to heaven.
Dropping his head back so they're eyes met he said, "Just go you schmuck. We'll call ya if we need ya."
He was about to come up with an excuse about why he couldn't go when a deep, loud bang sounded nearby.
Now or never Liebgott.
"Call me," he said, poking Guarnere in the chest to emphasize the point.
"Yeah-yeah."
He found the building where Arlene was easily enough. John and two replacements were keeping watch in-front of the door. The three men were casually leaning against the building, smoking and talking, but there eyes were constantly flicking from one soldier to the next, scanning for threats.
He approached slowly, pretty sure he was classified as a threat.
One of the replacements, Parker, was the first to spot him. The man pushed himself off of the building and firmly planted himself so he blocked the path to the door.
"What do you want? No one from Easy's here."
He sighed, this wasn't the kind of fight he'd come to France for.
"Listen, I'm not here to cause trouble."
The man scoffed and took a step forward, but that didn't stop him. He'd come to see Arlene, he'd promised himself he was going to make things right and this was as good a place as any to start.
He stopped only a few inches away from Parker, but the man was completely unyielding.
"Do I even want to know what's going on here?" Jessica's voice broke their stalemate.
Parker turned so he was facing his superior and he could see the blonde woman for the first time. If she'd been wearing civilian clothing it was gone now, replaced by a very clean American Airborne uniform. Her blonde hair was hanging in a long braid over her shoulder as she clutched her helmet underneath one arm.
"Well?" she asked again.
"Liebgott was just leaving ma'am," Parker answered.
He could see John smirk, but couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad sign.
"Really? So he walked all the way over here for no reason other than to leave?"
"Umm…well…."
Jessica held her sergeant's gaze and the man quickly abandoned whatever story he was trying to come up with, instead shutting his mouth with an audible snap.
"Listen, all of you," the woman said, looking between all the men, "unless the person is a German soldier, you will not be fighting them. Clear?"
"Yes ma'am," they all said.
"Good, and now if anybody feels the urge to disobey this order, they can come and pick a fight with me. But you should know, I fight dirty and I fight to win. Questions?"
He shook his head and her men quickly replied with a crisp, "no ma'am." There was something in the metallic glint of her eye that made him swallow hard.
"John," she called her lieutenant without looking over her shoulder.
"Ma'am," the man said, moving so he was standing beside her.
As she put her helmet on, and without looking at John, she said, "You're an officer. You are held accountable for your men's actions."
John's jaw tensed and he nodded. "I know. It won't happen again."
"Good. The four of us will head to Battalion HQ, Arlene will catch up."
"C'mon," John said and the other two men followed close behind.
Jessica waited a moment. Studying him her light blue eyes bore holes into his head. As soon as her men were out of earshot she said, "We're a family. We look out for one another. You crossed Arlene which means you crossed all of us."
He was about to say something when she fixed him with her cold eyes and his words vanished.
She started to walk, only stopping when she was at his shoulder. He looked down at her, his nerves on end. "Make it right or walk away, because those are the only two options available to you, trust me."
He breathed deeply. "I choose option one."
Her lips twitched into the barest of smiles. "Glad you made it Joe."
"You to ma'am," he stammered.
Jessica glanced over her shoulder and he followed her gaze. Arlene was standing in the doorway of the shed. Her uniform was the same as Jessica's and her dark locks were already well hidden beneath her helmet. The uniform hadn't been tailored for her so it hung loose on her slender frame, but he guessed that was the point.
"Two minutes," Jessica said to her friend.
Fixing him with one final look the blonde Captain left, leaving him alone with Arlene.
Arlene confidently closed the gap between them, stopping within his reach, but folding her arms over her chest. "Glad to see you made it," she said, her expression unreadable.
"You too. When did you get here?"
"France or Brecourt?"
He huffed an anxious laugh. "Both."
"New Year's eve and maybe half an hour."
He looked away from her. He had to stall so his brain could get some time to process the new information.
"You don't look surprised," she said, forcing him to look back to her.
"We had our suspicions. Luz even started a betting pool on which country you were in. Only two guys guessed England."
She smiled, her emerald green eyes softening for the first time. "What did you bet?"
"England."
She quirked her head to one side, an amused glimmer in her eyes.
He shrugged. "Guess that's what I wanted to be true."
She bit her lower lip and an awkward silence fell between them.
He cleared his throat as he mustered up his courage. Jumping out of a plane was easier.
She raised one eyebrow.
"I need more than two minutes to say everything."
She nodded.
"But for a start I just needed to see you. I needed to know that you're still alive. And I had to find out if I still have time?"
Arlene's eyes searched his and he hoped she found whatever it was she was looking for. "For now let's take it one step at a time. Starting with both of us making it through today."
He nodded, unsure if her answer meant he still had a chance or not.
She reached over and grabbed his bicep. Squeezing it she said, "Find me later."
"I will," he promised.
She let go of his arm and walked past him. He didn't turn to follow her, he didn't even think about doing it, his mind was too busy burning the feeling of her hand on his arm into his memory.
After a minute or two of him just standing there in a daze he noticed a few soldiers giving him odd looks. He smirked at them and they quickly turned away.
"So, just don't die," he mumbled under his breath as he walked back to his friends. "Should be easy."
Jessica POV
Trudging through the mud to Battalion HQ she resisted the urge to look over her shoulder. She was terribly curious and desperately wanted to see what was happening with Arlene and Joe, but she'd promised to give them some privacy.
I'll just get all the details from her later. Yay for pleasant distractions.
She felt rather pleased with herself for successfully convincing Arlene to hear Joe out. She didn't want to see her friend get hurt, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that the two of them were supposed to be together.
A soldier walked past her, so close their sleeves touched. She was about to say something when she recognised the familiar set of his shoulders.
"Ron?"
The man paused and and titled his head to one side as if he were trying to find the source of the sound.
"I swear, this time I'm not a figment of your imagination," she said as she moved so they were facing.
His eyes were hard and a thin trail of smoke escaped from between his lips to clouded the air between them.
"So you are here. I'd heard a rumour," he said.
She felt herself frown. Sure, not every reunion was going to be hugs and kisses, okay, none of them were here, but right now she honestly felt he didn't give two cents about seeing her alive. "Well it's nice to see you too Ron. Glad you're still alive and all that."
He smirked, his eyes deftly flicking over her body.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
His dark eyes shot back to hers. "I'm fine. Made the jump, my men are trickling in and finally I get to do what I've been training for, for years."
She narrowed her eyes and gave him a thin smile. "I see. Glad things are going your way. See you round."
She'd already turned to leave when she looked over her shoulder. "Oh, by the way, thanks for the knife. It came in handy."
His lips parted as if he was about to say something, but whatever it was she wasn't planning on hanging around to hear it. She'd never understood why the men were afraid of him until that moment. Although his sudden change of attitude didn't inspire fear in her, just a healthy dose of 'screw you'.
With her head down and indignation building up inside of her she nearly broke the hand that suddenly appeared on her arm.
She stopped dead, mud splattering onto her clean uniform as she slowly followed the line of the hand all the way to the owner's face. A corporal stood staring at her with wide eyes, seemingly frozen in place.
"Yes?" she asked.
The man swallowed and blinked. His eyes darted from her face to the hand that was still on her arm and back again. He slowly removed it, as if any sudden movements would startle her. "Sorry ma'am. I called, but I guess you couldn't hear me over the ruckus."
She took a deep breath and tried to rearrange her features into something marginally less deadly. "It's fine corporal, but a word of advice. Don't unexpectedly grab someone that's carrying a few guns."
The man cracked a small smile, relief softening the lines on his forehead. "I'll keep that in mind ma'am."
"So what can I help you with?"
"Oh, Major Strayer is looking for you at Battalion HQ."
"That works out well, I was just on my way there. Thank you Corporal."
"Sure thing, ma'am."
She gave the man a small smile before continuing on her way, hoping the gesture would go some way to putting him at ease.
Entering the barn that served as Battalion HQ she quickly spotted her men loitering off to one side, quietly talking amongst themselves as they shared a smoke. She nodded to them before scanning the room for Major Strayer. It didn't take her long to spot him talking to Richard, both men hunched over a map that had been placed on top of a stack of hay bales.
"Gentlemen," she said, stopping on the opposite side of the bales.
Strayer looked up from the map and gave her a small nod. The major was of average height with reddish blonde hair and a light beard that matched. She liked the man well enough and to date he'd treated her team well.
"Glad to see you made the jump, sir," she said, eyes skimming the map.
"Glad you survived your time in France. From what I heard the Red Devils kept you busy."
"Rather that, than wait around for all of you join the party."
"Well here we are, just in time for the main event. Shall we?" he asked, pointing to the map.
She gave one nod to show she was ready to start and waited for the men to bring her up to speed.
"Right," the major started, pointing to a line someone had drawn on the map, "there's some Kraut 88's up ahead and to the right about 300 yards from our position."
She pursed her lips as she studied the map and drawn in enemy positions. "They're firing on the landings," she stated.
"Yes they are. They're between us and Causeway number 2 and they're giving the boys hell. Easy is going to handle it."
She looked up from the map, catching Richard's eye. His jaw was set and his eyes were determined and calm despite the potential dangers the mission held.
"I want your team to assist Easy with the assault. Now, Captain Clark isn't here yet, so you're the ranking officer. You in?"
"We didn't come all this way so sun ourselves Major. Time to get to work."
"Good. Dick," the major slapped Richard's shoulder, "get it done."
"Yes, sir."
Strayer left, called away by one of his orderlies. Richard waited a beat, his brow furrowed as his lips worked, before saying, "I know you're the ranking officer."
She cut him off, knowing full well where this was going and hoping to avoid the unnecessarily awkward conversation. "We're here to assist Easy, it's your operation. You tell me what you need."
He exhaled loudly, his chest falling is if he'd been holding his breath for a while. She gave him a lopsided grin which he returned before they both switched gears again.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked.
Richard took her through his plan and she listened intently. Since they'd first started training with Easy she'd noted that Richard was a natural leader and skilled tactician. He could think on his feet, was brave without being reckless, and most importantly he didn't expect anything of his men he wasn't willing to do himself. In that moment she was immensely relieved to see that those months in England hadn't been a fluke, but merely a precursor.
When he was done laying out his plan he looked up, his crystal blue eyes expectantly watching her. She nodded, lower lip between her teeth as she ran every option over in her head.
"Well?" he asked.
Pointing to the treeline overlooking the German position she said, "I'd see if there's a perch where two members from my team can set up. One sniper and one man to watch his back. Other than that," she looked up from the map, "it sounds good."
He nodded once.
"I'll be coming with you."
His brow furrowed for a moment, but whatever objections he had he quickly set them aside, conceding with a reluctant "Okay".
Moments later Richard was repeating his plan to their assembled men. Looking around the group she noticed how painfully few of them had made it so far. She half expected to find Clark and Alex amongst the faces, and when she didn't she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that made its way into her chest.
She pushed the feeling down, instead focusing all her energy on Richard's briefing.
"There are two guns that we know of firing on Utah Beach," Richard said, drawing an X on the map to show their expected positions. "Plan on a third and a fourth here and here."
He briefly glanced up before continuing, "The Germans are in the trenches with access to the entire battery, with machine guns covering their rear."
"We'll establish a base of fire and move under it hard and fast. Captain King's team will leave a sniper team with our base to provide additional support."
Some of the Easy men glanced in her direction at the mention of her name. John looked around their team, they both knew he was the sniper she'd leave behind, so he got to choose his companion.
"How many Krauts do you think we're facing?" Guarnere asked.
She noticed the tension in his shoulders and the set to his jaw. There was something more to him than steely determination, and by the way he was looking at Richard she sensed something more was going on. She made a mental note to ask Richard or Arlene about it, and glancing over to her best friend she found her staring at Guarnere with narrow eyes.
Richard held his sergeant's scowl and replied, "No idea."
"No idea?" Guarnere repeated the answer and Arlene's one eyebrow shot up.
So she doesn't know what's going yet, but she will.
Richard ignored him. "We'll take some TNT along with us to spike the guns. Lipton," he pointed to the sergeant, "your responsibility."
The level-headed sergeant simply replied, "Yes, sir."
"Liebgott, you'll take the machine gun with Petty A-gunner. Plesha and Hendrix," Richard looked over to two Easy members she barely recognised, "you take the other. Who does that leave?"
The remaining men put up their hands. "Compton, Malarkey, Toye and Guarnere. Okay, we'll make the main assault along with Captain King's team."
Taking her cue she said, "Right, John you'll act as the sniper. Who do you want?"
"Hunt."
"Right, Hunt you're with Lieutenant Green. Walker and Parker you're with me on the main assault. Lieutenant Winters is in-charge."
"Yes, ma'am" her team replied.
"Weapons and ammo only. Bring all the spare you have."
"Everyone understood?" Richard asked the assembled men who all nodded.
"All right, let's pack it up, boys," Lipton said, effectively ending the briefing.
Walking past the sergeant she slapped him on the shoulder. She knew a good soldier when she saw one, and more importantly a good leader that would take care of the men, and Carwood Lipton was one such man.
They dumped all their packs and unnecessary kit in one heap, the men threatening the surrounding soldiers with a pain worse than death if anything went missing.
"John, Hunt," she called her sniper team.
"Ma'am?" Hunt replied, John looking over to her expectantly.
"You have any grenades?"
"Two," John replied, quickly followed by a "one" from Hunt.
"Give one to each of us. You won't need them right now."
The two men did as they were told, and she clipped her extra grenade onto her belt.
"Nice grenade," Buck said, eyeing her belt which already held two other grenades.
She smiled. "A girl can never have too many explosives."
He rewarded her with a lopsided smile. "I'll keep that in mind when Christmas rolls around."
She gave a little huff of a laugh, giving herself one final check to make sure she had everything.
"Ready?" Richard asked her.
She glanced over to him. "Always."
She thought she saw him roll his eyes and smirk.
Richard did one final assessment of the men before shouting, "Compton, 2nd Squad!"
"Yes, sir!" Buck replied.
"All right, you heard the word. Let's move," Lipton relayed the order to the rest of the men.
The Easy men moved out and her team seamlessly blended in with them. She hung back for a moment, watching them move out. She and Arlene had been away from the men for months and in that time they'd spent almost every day with Easy, training or socialising. In that moment she could see it. They trusted each other, despite their differences and whatever issues they had.
Joe POV
As the assault party neared the German position he stole a look at Arlene. Her dark eyes were consistently scanning every shadow, darting every which way. Even through her oversized uniform he could see her muscles were tense with a single minded determination. Nothing about her conveyed fear or even the slightest apprehension.
Her dark eyes fell onto him and he thought he saw her lips twitch upwards, but before his brain could fully register the minute gesture she was looking away from him again.
He turned his eyes away from her and focused them on Lieutenant Winters and Captain King who were leading the party through a series of gardens and hedges.
Three thunderous blasts rang out overhead, temporarily drowning out even the thudding of his own heart in his ears.
At least they ain't difficult to find.
Once they reached the final hedge that separated them from the enemy they took the knee, guns trained on the enemy line as they waited for their final orders. His fingers clenched and unclenched around the barrel of the machine gun. This close to the line he could hear the German soldiers shouting to each other. He spoke German, a fact the officers appreciated and some of the men had used to ridicule him when they'd first found out about it. Idiotically assuming because he spoke German he must sympathise with them. Funnily enough it had been Bill Guarnere that had put a stop to any brewing trouble.
He watched as Sergeant Lipton peered through the rusted wreckage of an old car which was slap-bang in the middle of the natural barrier that separated them from the Germans. The carcass provided the perfect cover with its deep shadows, and he idly wondered how it had ended up here of all places.
He turned away from the officers in time to see Arlene tap John on the shoulder. The young lieutenant followed her line of sight and a satisfied smirk transformed his face. He knew what Arlene had pointed out to him, the abandoned car. With its shadows and the break it had created in the thick foliage it was the perfect sniper's nest. Well, until the first few shots rang out and the enemy found you.
A flash of movement drew his attention and his eyes snapped away from Arlene just in time to see Winters, Jessica and Buck approach.
The three crouched down beside them and Winters ordered, "Liebgott, put down fire here," pointing to a pocket in the hedge.
He crawled forward on his stomach until he could see the German trenches and guns through the thicket. He quickly set up the position, Petty squeezing in next to him, a long string of ammunition in his hand, ready to be fed into the gun.
And then they waited.
Jessica POV
Reaching Arlene and the rest of the men they took the knee.
"Set up in the car," she ordered John.
He nodded and tapped Hunt on the shoulder. She briefly glanced over her shoulder to watch the two men jog in a half-crouch to the wreckage.
She turned back to the group and locked eyes with Richard. His jaw tensed and his hand tightened around the neck of his rifle.
"We'll draw their fire to the right," Richard glanced over to her before turning his attention to Buck, "Buck, take two men and hit them from the left," he ordered.
"Lipton, I want you to take Ranney and envelope right, give covering fire. Don't give away your position until you have to. And I want that TNT as soon as you see we've captured the first gun."
The sergeant nodded.
"Go," Richard said.
"Yes, sir," Lipton replied, leaving to execute his orders.
They cautiously moved into the thicket separating them from the German held position. She found a gap in the foliage, right next to a thin tree trunk. Squeezing herself into the space she studied the enemy position. When the time came they would need to run across a stretch of open field to reach the German trenches.
She took a deep breath, lifted her rifle so the sight was trained on a German helmet and waited. That eerie silence that sometimes preceded a firefight descended over them. She resisted the urge to fidget, waiting wasn't one of her strengths.
Then, as quickly as it had fallen over them, the silence was shattered by machine gun fire. She pulled the trigger and the enemy helmet jerked back before slipping below the rim of the trench. She found her next target and the next.
The enemy returned fire, sending twigs and leaves raining down on them. The cacophony of gunfire was punctuated only by the deep rumble of heavy artillery.
Ping. The sound of her empty clip rang in her ears despite the chaos.
She expertly dumped the empty clip, slammed a new one in and continued the assault.
The Germans rained hell down on them, it was only a matter of time until they found their mark.
Where the fuck is Buck?
The enemy trench exploded and three American soldiers appeared on the horizon before vanishing into the trench.
"Let's go! Lets' go!" Richard shouted.
She shot from her cover, sprinting across the field as bullets bit at her feet and explosions lifted dirt into the air.
She jumped into the trench, hitting the ground hard. A body smacked into her from the left, driving her to the ground.
"Shit!" Malarkey shouted as he got off of her.
She sat up, the man's eyes frantically looking her over. There was a streak of grey over his shoulder.
She lifted her rifle, shouted "Down", and pulled the trigger.
The German slumped to his knees before falling face first into the muddy trench.
She tapped Malarkey's shoulder and got to her feet. From the corner of her eyes she saw him move towards the edge of the trench.
"Grenade!" the warning rang out over the din of the fight.
Soldiers scattered and she grabbed the nearest uniformed body to her and forcefully jerked them backwards. They fell in a tangled mess as the explosion rained dirt and debris down on them.
She coughed as she scrambled to disentangle herself. Free, she looked up to see Richard staring back at her.
"Thanks!"
She nodded, getting to her feet. Their men were firing on the German held positions, they'd taken a section of the trench, now they had to hold it or be outflanked.
She moved behind their line in a half crouch, checking on each soldier. Bullets hit the rim of the trench, kicking dirt into her face and down her collar.
Arlene POV
As her feet hit the bottom of the trench she spun around, throwing herself into the wall of the earthen wall.
Germans were running across the field, desperate to reach the section of the trench not occupied by the Americans.
She found one target and pulled her trigger. The man fell forward as if an invisible hand had shoved him from behind.
The soldier next to her fired at a retreating enemy soldier, shot after shot but missed each one. She took aim and the next moment the man was on the ground.
The unfamiliar soldier avoided looking at her, but she caught Bill's eye and he shook his head.
"Shit, I've been hit! I'm sorry!"
She turned away from the field, searching for the source. Popeye was it. The small blond man was lying on his stomach, Toye already kneeling over him. She dropped to her knees beside him, pulling sulfa powder from inside her jacket.
"What happened?" Toye asked.
"Hit in the ass!" she shouted to be heard.
She tore the packet open with her teeth before sprinkling the white powered over the red stain growing on the man's behind.
"Grenade! Move!" Winters shouted.
Her eyes shot up to meet Toye's in time to see him stumble backwards as the force of the blast drove her on-top of Popeye.
"Fuck," she groaned.
"Arlene! Toye!" she heard someone shout through the ringing in her ears.
She pushed herself off of Popeye. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts an avalanche of dirt fell off of her.
Popeye's eyes expanded tenfold and she whipped around in time to see a German standing at the end of their section of trench, rifle pointed at her chest.
She reached for hers but knew she wouldn't make it in time.
A puff of red mist appeared where his dull eyes had been, his body slumped to its knees before toppling sideways.
Her eyes frantically searched for the source of the bullet that had saved her life. She found the glimmer of metal hidden in the shadows of the abandoned car wreck.
John, she sighed.
She turned back to the wounded man, his eyes still focused on the spot where the German had been.
"Pop, you okay?"
His eyes snapped back to her face. "Shit."
She smirked.
"Arlene?" she heard Toye call her.
She looked up, the man was covered in dirt with a scowl drawing a line across his forehead, his helmet lying at his feet.
She shot him a thumbs up.
"How bad is it?" Winters appeared out of thin air next to her.
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to fuck up. I don't think it's too bad."
"Bullet to the rear," she clarified.
"It's okay Pop. Let's get you out of here," Winters replied.
"Can you make it back yourself?" she asked.
"Think so," the injured man groaned.
Bullets hit the top of the trench, raining hot metal and ground op-top of them. They all ducked their heads, waiting for a break in the fire.
When the few seconds came Winters said, "Okay, let's get you out of here."
She put Popeye's helmet back on his head and took his gun. "Drop your weapon Pop."
They hauled him up and pushed him over the lip of the trench furthers from the German line. She tossed him is rifle as more bullets whizzed past their heads.
"Stay low!"
"I ain't got another option!" he retorted.
She smirked, he'd be fine.
Winters slapped her shoulder. "They've got the first gun. On me."
She followed the lieutenant until they reached the first large gun. The trench approached the gun from the side and behind. The gun itself was surrounded by a very low earthen wall, with two entrances cut in where the embankment met the trench, and covered by a netted canopy designed to hide it from Allied planes.
Jessica and Parker were pressed against the embankment, studying the approach to the second gun.
Her captain looked over her shoulder and signed for them to meet her behind the gun.
"We need to take the second gun before they can organise and mount a counter attack," Jessica said.
Winters nodded in agreement. "Buck," he called.
"We need to take the second gun. Captain King will go with us," he glanced to Jessica who silently gave her agreement, "and we'll take Toye. Grenades first then keep going."
"Arlene, you and Parker stay here, we need to hold this base and the line."
"Yes, ma'am," she replied.
"Let's go," Winters said.
"Toye, on me," Buck called.
Toye pushed past her and the four soldiers moved to take the second gun.
She took up the space left by Jessica on the inside of the wall. Peering over the rim she searched for a target. With all the gunfire coming their way there had to be a few.
She found a target, she fired but the man ducked below the rim of his trench and so she switched sights to another helmet.
A set of explosions and rapid fire drew her attention just in time to see Jessica and Winters take the second gun.
"Where the hell is our TNT?" she asked no one.
"Don't know, but Lipton better get here soon. We can't hold forever," Parker replied.
She turned to him. "We'll hold as long as we need to."
His mouth moved to say something, but it was drowned out by her gunshot. The German she'd spotted had stuck his head back up, and she'd found her target.
She glanced back over to him, eyebrow raised.
He gulped. "Yes, ma'am."
"A little suppressive fire why don't ya?" an all too familiar voice shouted over the noise of the battle.
Joe stumbled over the edge of the wall, falling next to Parker, his machine gun cradled in his arms.
"Joe, have you seen Lipton with the TNT?" she asked.
"Nah, but getting through that field is a fucking nightmare!"
"Fuck," she swore under her breath.
"Right, set up. We need to keep the Germans busy until he gets here."
From the corner of her eye she saw Malarkey shout and hurdle over the wall. He ran into the open field which separated them from the Germans, and suddenly all the gunfire died down.
"What the hell?!"
"He's looking for Luger!" Guarnere explained.
"Now you stop firing? Beautiful!" Joe said.
"Why aren't they shooting?" Parker asked.
"Christ they must think he's a medic!" Joe shouted.
"He's going to need a goddamn medic!" Guarnere retorted.
As if on cue the Germans opened fire on Malarkey. The Irishman ran back to them, zigzagging and falling in the mud before getting back up. All they could do was watch, unable to return fire in case they hit him.
He dove in next to Guarnere and immediately they opened fire.
"A fricken Luger?" she shouted over the noise. "Are you insane?! If you have a death wish, just say, we can save the Germans some ammo!"
She saw the sheepish look Malarkey gave her.
Her clip emptied and she reached for a new one, but came up empty.
"Shit, I'm out!"
"Here," Joe shouted, tossing her a clip.
She grabbed it out of the air and slammed it into her rifle.
"How are you all for ammo?" she asked the men.
"Okay," Malarkey and Joe replied.
"Low!" Bill shouted and Parker said, "Good."
If we don't get ammo soon we're going to have a real damn problem.
A body hit the wall on her other side, jostling her. She looked over her shoulder to find Winters pushed in next to her. German gunfire peppered the top of the embankment, pinging off the large gun.
Two soldiers appeared from their rear, slithering over the embankment and slamming themselves into the wall to avoid the enemy fire.
"Hiya, Cowboy!" Bill greeted the them.
"Shut your trap Gonorrhea!" the one retorted.
Bill smirked. "He's all right that kid!"
"You know him?"
"Yeah, Able Company."
She looked over the wall, let of few rounds and ducked back down as a bullet pinged into the gun overhead.
"Need help?" the other newcomer asked as he pushed himself as deep into the earth as he could.
"I need ammo, sir. Lots of it. And TNT!"
"I've got TNT!" Cowboy said.
Winters pointed to the mouth of the gun. "Good job private."
The second soldiers climbed back out the way he'd come, hopefully to get them all the ammo they could carry.
"Fire in the hole!" Winter shouted as he landed next to her.
They turned away from the gun and covered their heads just as the TNT detonated, nearly snapping the neck of the large gun.
"Walker, Parker, Liebgott! Covering fire on the third gun!"
Joe tossed her a few more clips and he adjusted the machine gun. They opened fire on the third gun, forcing the Germans to keep their heads down.
Jessica POV
She, Buck and Toye were firing on the third gun, using the wheel of the second as cover. She sensed people behind her, but knew they had to be theirs.
"Running a little low on ammo, sir!" Buck shouted next to her.
"How about you Malarkey?" Richard asked.
That's who it is.
"Okay!"
"Jessica?"
She tossed her empty clip and slotted a new one in. "Fine!"
"Think you got enough to take the third gun?" he shouted in her ear.
She turned and smirked. "Only one way to find out! Buck, Malarkey, let's go! Toye cover!
The moved down the trench, keeping their heads down only to sporadically pop up, let of a few shots and then duck back down.
Nearing the gun she and Buck took grenades, pulled the pins, counted to three before tossing them into the German position. Malarkey fired constantly as they ran into the cloud of dirt and smoke.
A figure appeared though the haze, she levelled her rifle and fired twice. Buck moved past her, shooting a German that was lying on the ground, blood covering his chest but fingers reaching for his gun.
She looked around, all the Germans were either dead or gone.
So that was a yes then, she answered Richards' question in an oddly disjointed way.
She moved so she could see the forth gun. Same set-up. Trenches and fortified Germans.
Fun times.
"Here!" Winters tossed Malarkey some TNT. "Use the potato masher to light it!"
Malarkey nodded, stuffed the TNT into the mouth of the gun, quickly followed by the enemy grenade.
"Fire in the hole!"
She ducked and covered her face, the explosion adding another layer to the chaos around them.
When she could hear gunfire again she turned back in the direction of the fourth gun. She fired at anything that moved, keeping them down until they moved on the gun.
"Winters!" the voice caught her off guard. She turned to see Ron jumping into the hole, machine gun ammo draped over his shoulders and a string of men behind him.
"Heard you needed ammo!" Ron shouted.
"Malarkey, take as much as you can!"
The man didn't have to be asked twice, he grabbed the ammunition and moved back down the trench to their machine gunners.
"Here!" Ron threw a satchel filled with rifle ammunition at her feet.
She grabbed the bag and swung it across her body. The gunfire and adrenaline only fuelling her anger towards him.
"Mind if D Company take a shot at the next gun?" Ron asked.
Richard looked to her. She shrugged. Who was she to deny the man a chance to get shot.
"All yours," Richard answered.
Ron held her gaze for a moment and she wasn't sure who was angrier, but she knew who had the right to be.
"Let's get them D Company!" he shouted.
She turned so she could watch the assault on the gun. Richard and Buck joined her and they watched as Dog sustained heavy fire from the Germans.
"Who is that? Speirs?" Buck asked.
She watched in horror as Ron climbed out of the trench and ran for the German gun.
"What's he doing out of the trench!?" Richard exclaimed.
"Being an idiot!" she shouted.
I swear, if he gets himself killed I'm going to be royally ticked off.
An explosion hit at Ron's feet and earth spat up. He fell back and her heart stopped.
"Oh, Jesus…"Buck said.
Then, Ron popped up and jumped into the enclosure holding the gun. He waved his arm, they'd taken it.
She turned away, not sure she wouldn't shoot him now.
Lipton suddenly appeared. He looked up to the nose of the gun and frowned.
"Hey there!" she greeted him with a slap on the shoulder.
Seeing Winter he said, "Sir, we had a little trouble getting through that first field."
"We're going to need your TNT at the next gun. Once blown tell them to pull out. Go!" he ordered.
Lipton ran down the trench to the last gun.
"Compton, police them them, then pull out!"
Buck nodded.
"Toye, Jessica. Move out!"
XXXXXXX
She leaned against the old brick wall, listening idly to the soldier's conversations going on around her. Armour had started to reach them from the beach, and she was waiting for someone specific.
Her men were with Easy, celebrating their victory and no doubt embellishing the story with each telling. She tilted her head up, searching for the little ray of sunlight that threatened to peak through the bank of clouds.
She took deep breaths, pushing the depressing thoughts that were waiting on the edge of her consciousness aside. Now that the adrenaline had faded and exhaustion started to kick in, she was finding it difficult to ignore the obvious.
No one from Meehan's plane had arrived yet, and Clark and Phillips, one of their replacements, had been on that plane. She'd had this feeling before, and it had never ended well.
"Hey."
She dropped her face back down and opened her eyes. Richard was standing next to her, giving her a questioning look.
"I was hoping for some sun."
He pursed his lips and looked up to the sky.
"A girl can dream."
He huffed a laugh.
Trucks and tanks were rolling by, turning the muddy road into a swamp.
"Well, look who decided to join the party?" she said, spotting the face she'd been waiting for.
Nixon was sitting on-top of a tank like a king, a shit eating grin on his face.
The armour stopped next to them. "Going my way?"
Sure," Richard replied, tossing him his rifle and taking the offered hand.
She smiled. She'd hoped to see Nixon, knowing his smile would help lift the weight settling on her shoulders.
"You coming?" he asked.
"I'll let you two have some time alone."
He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to find you later."
"Good."
The tank started to inch forward. She waved them off before turning to find her men. It was time to move out.
Arlene POV
By the time night had fallen they'd arrived in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. The French town was quickly overrun by soldiers, artillery and vehicles. The screams of the wounded punctuated the men's weary conversations and the few remaining civilians eyed them a little suspiciously. They'd been given an hour to get something to eat and rest before they had to move out again.
Pretty soon she'd found herself sandwiched between Toye and Buck on the back of covered troop truck. Malarkey had scrounged ingredients from somewhere and Bill and Joe had lit a fire inside a drum, on the back of the truck.
The air was stuffy and warm, and she was grateful she'd become accustomed to the smell drifting up from the steaming gruel.
"Malark, do I want to know what that is?" she asked.
He smelled the steam and nodded to himself. "Warm food."
Passing her a bottle of cheap alcohol someone had scrounged Bill asked, "You heard anything about the rest of your team doll?"
She took a swig, scrunching her face as the very bitter liquid hit the back of her throat. The men chuckled and Toye took the bottle from her, trying to hide a cough after he'd taken his own swig.
"No, but everyone's still scattered all over the place. Most of Easy is still on the lam."
"They'll turn up," Joe said.
She gave him a rueful smile.
He held her stare for a moment longer before busying himself lighting two cigarettes. Without saying a word he leaned forward and handed her one. Their fingertips touched and they lingered for a second before she leaned back in the bench.
"How we doing Malark?" Bill asked, leaning over so he could peer into the metal tin the food was cooking in.
Malarkey tasted the gruel. "We're doing good."
"Yeah? What the hell do you know about cooking; you're Irish," Buck said.
"Sir, if you have a reservation someplace else. I'd be happy to join you."
Buck was about to say someone when she slapped him on the chest. "You didn't offer to make us anything."
"Neither did you," he shot back.
She took the bottle from his hand. "Do I look like the kinda girl that cooks in the back of an Army truck?"
"Wait, you don't cook doll?" Bill asked.
"Oh, I cook. Just not on the back of an army truck and not for all of you judgmental asses."
Bill feigned offence and she stuck out her tongue.
She quickly glanced over to Joe. He was watching her, his trademark smirk curling around the cigarette stuck between his lips.
She arched an eyebrow.
He dropped his head and smiled.
The back flap moved and Winters appeared. Their laughter died down.
"Hello, sir," Bill said on everyone's behalf.
Winters inhaled deeply through his nose and very quickly regretted it judging by the look on his face. She couldn't stifle the giggle that trickled through her lips.
Yip, breathing through my mouth was the right call.
"Did something die in here?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned.
"Yeah, Malarkey's ass," Toye chirped.
Now everyone laughed, the mood once again relaxed.
"Any word from Lieutenant Meehan, sir?" Buck asked.
She held her breath.
"No, not yet," he answered and her stomach sank a little.
"Don't that make you our commanding officer, sir?" Bill asked and there was something about the way he said it.
She remembered Jessica mentioning to her that there seemed to be some tension between Bill and Winters. She hadn't noticed anything, but then again she'd only seen them interact when people were trying to kill them, so she wasn't really in a position to give her opinion.
She'd made a note of asking Bill about it the first chance they got, but one hadn't presented itself yet.
"Yeah, it does," Winters answered.
Guarnere nodded and smiled a little.
He seems fine with it. After today, he should be.
Toye took the bottle from her hand and offered it to Winters. "Sir."
Bill waved him off. "Joe, the lieutenant don't drink."
To everyone's surprise Winters accepted the bottle. "It's been a day of firsts."
He took a drink and his entire face soured.
And he's never drinking again.
He held out the bottle to Guarnere. "Don't you think sergeant?"
Her friend smiled and accepted the bottle. "Yes, sir."
Winters looked around the group, the look on his face reminding her of the proud parents she used to see at her school. "Carry on."
He was about to duck down when he turned back around. "Oh, sergeant?"
"Sir?" Guarnere replied.
"I'm not a Quaker."
There was a beat of silence, even she had heard Bill grumble that Winters was a Quaker, and then everyone burst out laughing.
The lieutenant disappeared and Toye casually slung his arm over her shoulder. She noticed Joe's eyebrows knit together, but she shot him a wink and his features relaxed.
"So, let's eat!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Jessica POV
She walked through the crowded town without a destination in mind, just knowing she wasn't ready to pause and acknowledge the sinking feeling in her stomach that made it hard to breathe.
Almost as soon as they'd put their packs down Alex and two other replacements had arrived. All three men were exhausted, but besides for a sprained ankle they were unharmed. She'd been elated when Alex had embraced her, but the feeling had been wiped out when he'd confirmed they hadn't seen Clark, or anyone else form Meehan's plane for that matter.
"So you're in-charge?" he'd asked.
"For now."
"Good."
"Get some food and rest. We're moving out in an hour."
He'd nodded and pulled her into a one arm hug. "We'll keep something for you."
She'd smiled, he knew her well.
She needed time alone with her thoughts to sort through them, storing the more painful and horrible ones deep down in the furthers reaches of her mind to be dealt with much later.
The incline shifted upwards and she recalled seeing a small hill on one side of the town when they'd arrived. Two soldiers walked past her, going back down the hill. They were talking softly, but stopped and formally greeted her when she passed them. With all the grime on her face and her hair hidden they didn't realise she was woman in the dim light so she just nodded in return. She was too exhausted to deal with their reaction to her presence on the front line.
A feint orange glow silhouetted the top of the hill, along with the jeep that stood there and the soldier than leaned against it.
She recognised the man even in the dark, she was confident she'd know him by his footsteps.
Cresting the hill she found the source of the orange glow, confirming the guess she'd ventured when she'd first noticed it.
A city was being bombed, whether by their own side or the Germans she wasn't totally sure. The bombing sounded like a distant thunder storm, orange flames licking the sky as if they were reaching for heaven as thousands of tracers danced in-between them.
"It's almost beautiful, isn't it?" she asked as she stopped next to Richard.
He glanced down at her, tearing his eyes away from the blaze. "From far away."
She walked around him and hopped onto the bonnet of the jeep he was leaning against. With her feet dangling over the edge she took out her crumpled packet of cigarettes and searched for the least damaged one. Finding one that was still whole she lit it, replacing her pack and lighter. She didn't bother even offering Richard one, knowing full well he didn't smoke.
She took a long drag and closed her eyes, the orange light from the far off flames softened to a glow through her closed lids. Blowing out the smoke she finally said the words she'd been avoiding all day, "I don't think Clark's coming back."
Richard shifted so he was standing next to her, her legs touching his arm. "He could. A lot of the men are still missing, scattered all over the peninsula."
She opened her eyes. He was looking ahead, arms loosely crossed over his chest as he leaned against the jeep. "He was on Meehan's plane along with one of our replacements."
His shoulders sagged a fraction and she saw his chest rise and fall.
"The day I met Clark, the instructors arranged some close quarter combat drills. Arlene and I'd already been training for a year, but the men all had some military backgrounds, so it was a fair fight."
She giggled at the memory. Richard looked over his shoulder, one eyebrow quizzically raised and a lopsided grin on his lips.
"Clark hated the idea of working with me even before we met. It wasn't anything personal, guess he thought the whole thing was a waste of his time."
"Really?"
"Oh yes, and he was not subtle at all!"
"So what happened to change his mind?"
"The drill happened. We were paired together, and by that stage he'd made his feelings about my abilities, or lack thereof, abundantly clear. By the end of it, he had a broken nose, two black eyes, bruised ribs and one damaged ego."
Richards chuckled, a deep sound that relaxed his shoulders and wrinkled the corners of his eyes. He turned back to watch the horizon, but his weight shifted so his body was pressing against her leg.
"So that's all it took, huh?"
"That's all it took to get him to truly give the experiment a chance. And we never looked back."
Richard's head bopped up and down as if he was nodding to himself. He looked over his shoulder and asked, "How did you all get involved in the unit?"
"The men never told you?"
"They said a man from the government arrived at their barracks one day and offered them a slot in a special unit. He had a file on each of them, but not one for you or Arlene."
"Oh, he had one on us. He just didn't share it with them. I think the people in-charge of setting up the unit loved to see the looks on the men's faces when they realised they'd be working with two women."
He smirked before asking, "And you and Arlene?"
"Oh, that is a different story. Arlene, well, she wanted a different life for herself than the one her parents had planned for her. This was her way out."
He waited for her to continue, but when she didn't elaborate he asked, "And you?"
"Look who's the Intelligence Officer now?" she teased him, but didn't elaborate any further. In the dark she thought she saw him blush as he ran a hand through his hair.
She hopped of the jeep and threw the stump of her forgotten cigarette to the ground, flattening it with the toe of her boot. Staring at the ground she felt the familiar weight settle on her shoulders and in the pit of her stomach. No, Clark wasn't coming back.
When she looked up from the ground she found him staring at her, his eyes studying her face, a small frown running down the middle of his forehead.
She quirked her head sideways.
He reached for her, gently pulling her into a hug. Her head rested just underneath his chin. He smelled like sweat, gunpowder, smoke and army soap. It was a combination she was all familiar with, but on him it smelled completely unique.
"I'm sorry," he whispered above her head.
A sad smile crossed her face. "Me too."
He tightened his hold on her for a beat before slowly letting her go. She looked up at him and wondered what this moment could have been if they weren't in a war.
"I'll make you a deal," she said.
The sadness faded and his blue eyes twinkled.
"If we both make it out of here, you buy me a drink and I'll let you how I ended up where I am."
He took a small step back and extended his hand. "Deal."
With a shake of his hand she said, "Deal."
Reluctantly letting go she looked back into the heart of the town. "I need to go," she turned back to him and continued, "Get some sleep Richard."
"Yes Captain."
She rolled her eyes. "And people wonder why you and Nix get along so well?"
As she turned to leave she saw him smile for a moment before it vanished.
XXXXXXX
Hello lovely people! Wow, long chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it, because I quite enjoyed writing this one! Have a great weekend and take care of yourselves. Chat soon !