bob

"Quiet place".

After a couple of minutes, Nelly got a response from Welsh.

"Anything? Over".

Instead of her replying, Nelly held the radio up toward one of their windows. Soon, Germans singing loudly and drunkenly blasted out through Welsh's radio. And he began telling her to take her radio away from the annoying sound.

"Jesus". Welsh said, "So, you're having a party? What happened to work, Murray".

Burges snorted out a laugh and Hughes lazily grinned. With a shake of her head and somewhat amused, Nelly responded. "They've settled in. Foxholes, outposts. But no planned attacks. Over".

"Have they sent out patrols? Over".

"No, not yet. Over".

"I'll relay the message to the Colonel. Radio me tomorrow, 0900 hours. Over".

"Copy that. Over and out".

Turning the radio off, Nelly picked up her binoculars and looked through the window. It was the afternoon of their second day on a recon mission. And not much had happened. The enemy had settled in, and they got drunk. No patrols went out, no shots were fired. For now, Nelly, Hughes and Burges watched the enemy throw themselves a little party.

"Winters would kill us if we did that". Hughes pointed out.

"They're disciplined soldiers at best". Nelly mumbled, "But they drink a lot more than us".

"And why is that?" Hughes asked.

"Long war". She whispered, "Some of them...they've done a lot of bad things".

Hughes pulled a confused face. "Like what?"

"For the Third Reich".

Burges looked up from his notepad. "What's that?"

"Nazis". Nelly whispered.

"Are they Nazis?" Burges gestured toward the drunken Germans from inside their outpost.

Nelly shrugged. "I don't know". She said, "Not all Germans in the army are Nazis. Not all civilian Germans are Nazis...a lot of Germans are enemies of the Third Reich".

"You've met them, right?" Burges asked her quietly, "The Nazis?"

"Yeah".

"What are they like?"

A lot of vile words came to mind. But Nelly settled on something different. "Human".

Hughes appeared puzzled. "Well, yeah...".

Nelly bobbed her head. "That's the problem...they're human...they look like us".

Burges could see where she was coming from. "Evil doesn't look like a monster; it looks like us". He concluded quietly. And then said, "So, how come the army told us all Germans are Nazis?"

"Easier to kill something you hate". Nelly simply said.

Hughes lightened the mood, "You don't hate us, right?"

Nelly's lips twitched. "No".

With his own binoculars, Burges looked through their small window at the rear. He soon went quiet. Nelly's eyes left her binoculars, and she looked over her shoulder, staring at the back of his head with a small frown.

"Nelly, we've got a problem". Burges whispered.

Sitting on the ground, Nelly picked up the notepad they shared to jot down information. After checking the time on her watch and marking it down, she said, "Go".

"There's another German Platoon digging in eighty-five yards at our rear".

Hughes's face crumbled with fear. "Holy shit...".

And a strange sense of calm reached Nelly. It was familiar for her to be surrounded. She was used to those sticky and often frightening situations. "So...we have...sixty southwest and sixty dead on south?"

"I'd say, yeah". Burges confirmed quietly. "Do you think we'll get the rest of the Company?"

"Yeah". Nelly replied.

Hughes worriedly looked at Nelly. "We're 'gonna be surrounded".

Again, she replied with, "Yeah". But she added, "I wouldn't worry too much...not unless they stumble into our OP". And Nelly said all that with a tiny grin.

Hughes thought the girl was insane but kept that remark to himself. "We should probably pull back, right? Before that happens?"

Burges shrugged. "It's up to Nelly...she's leading this mission".

"If we get surrounded...we call in for artillery". Nelly said, "If we need it".

"Oh, we'll need it". Hughes sounded sure.

"We can't leave this OP". Nelly told them. "For anything".

"What if we need to shit?" Hughes asked.

Nelly appeared confused by that question. And she gave him an obvious reply, "We shit here".

"Seriously?" Hughes hissed. "Haven't you ever heard the expression; don't shit where you sleep?"

"No". Nelly said quietly. "Sorry, Richie".

"What now?" Burges asked.

"Shifts". Nelly said, "At night. Two on OP, one sleeps. We'll switch every two hours".

"Right on". Burges joked lightly, "Party in this OP, huh?"

Checking her watch, Nelly took note of the time and picked up her radio. It was the same handheld radio Skip gave her before their drop into Normandy. This time, she packed batteries. She set up the channel to reach Nixon. "Quiet place". Nelly told the radio.

"I'm in a quiet place". Came Nixon's response. "What's your twenty?"

"We have another Platoon behind us". Nelly replied.

There was a short pause. "Get out".

Hughes's face perked up at that order.

But Nelly argued softly. "No, we're fine".

Nixon argued back. "You'll have the rest of the Company surrounding you soon, Murray. Get out".

"We have...no good information". Nelly explained.

"I don't care". Nixon said, "Get out, Murray".

Running a finger under her nose in thought, she said, "One more night. We can't leave right now anyway. Enemies too energetic and drunk".

Nixon's sigh sounded through the radio. "Fine". He muttered. "You leave tomorrow. Over and out".

Nelly switched the radio off, and Hughes frowned at her when saying, "We could leave right now, we have an opening".

She ignored him and said, "Watch your window".

And as they and Nixon predicted, another Platoon set up camp just eighty yards away from Hughes's window. If one more Platoon joined them, they'd be completely surrounded. For now, they had a tiny opening to escape if need be. But even if they used that small opening, it would be risky. The Germans had their eyes and ears set on the surrounding area. Hughes was pissed. He was so angry at Nelly.

"We should have left!" He hissed. "Why didn't we leave, Nelly?!"

"It's fine". She whispered back, "We're doing our job".

"You're 'gonna get us fucking killed".

"Hey...". Burges cut in calmly. "Cool it, alright? We're not dead yet, Richie".

"She's trying to play hero!" Hughes hotly whispered. "You want a medal or something?"

"No". Nelly said, "I want...". Her voice trailed off – what did she want? Nelly pulled a frown. Her eyes looked toward their small escape route. Why didn't she pull back when Nixon ordered?

Hughes huffed and ran a hand down his face. And he slumped down into the mud. "She doesn't even know...we're fucked".

...

She didn't want it to be a waste.

Every mission and objective had to mean something. It had to add some value to stopping the war – that's why Nelly stayed on the recon mission. She had to find something of value for Colonel Sink and his staff. But when Nelly drew that conclusion, it was too late – Hughes was fast asleep. It was night-time, just gone 0100 hours. Burges and Nelly remained glued to those three windows, where they kept an eye on the enemy. The two young men couldn't smoke in the outpost, the light would draw enemy attention. They stopped eating rations that made too much noise and they couldn't talk above a whisper.

Nelly knew the Germans would eventually find them. She was surprised they hadn't sussed out their outpost yet. It must have been very well camouflaged for the enemy not to spot it. Yet. She figured they could have one more day inside their OP before attempting an escape.

"Tommy". She whispered.

"Yeah?" Burges didn't look away from his binoculars.

"We leave tomorrow". Nelly said, "They switch OP at 0600 and 0900 every morning through my window".

And Burges sighed. "It's 0700 and 0800 at my window".

Nelly's lips pressed together in thought. With a nod, she said, "My window's closest to our escape route".

"We'll go with your opening". Burges agreed.

"We only have...two minutes...two men leave and then two minutes later, two men take over the OP".

"Inform Nixon".

"Right".

Reaching for her radio with one hand, Nelly's other hand kept hold of the binoculars. And as she turned the radio on – it squeaked. Eyes widening, she dropped her binoculars and quickly shut the radio off. Burges and Nelly held their breaths. Hughes woke up from the sound, his eyes went as wide as plates. Soon, the three of them could hear German voices. The three troopers didn't make a sound – they were barely breathing.

The three of them had their backs pressed up against the wall, no one sat up by the windows. Nelly's head cocked to the side, and she looked up toward the window, only to find a pair of black boots shining against the moonlight. Heart in her throat, Nelly couldn't seem to take her eyes off the boots. She needed to see them leave. Nelly didn't see Hughes and Burges bow their heads in prayer. But she did know that if they were caught, she would have gotten them killed. Nelly didn't pray; however, she wished those boots away.

"Was war es?" A German asked.

And another pair of boots came into view. "Ich wiess es nicht".

Licking her bottom lip, Nelly continued to listen and watch through the small window.

"Zigarette?"

"Ja". He said, "Danke".

A cigarette exchange was made.

"Ist die Panzereinheit angekommen?"

"An diesem Morgen".

"Suwestlich von hier?"

"Ja". He confirmed. "Wir haben diese Gegend umgeben".

The man chuckled. "Gut". He said, "Die Amerikaner kommen nicht rein".

Nelly soon watched the two pairs of boots walk away from the window and back to their Platoon, eight yards in front of them to the right. Facing Burges and Hughes, she gave them a nod and they let out a collective sigh of relief. Nelly couldn't write down that information in the dark, but she could remember it.

"We're surrounded". She whispered.

"We know". Hughes snapped quietly.

But Nelly shook her head. "Completely".

Burges frowned at her.

She told them, "They have a Panzer unit southwest from here. We can't leave".

"Southwest?" Burges whispered, "They're trying to reach Carentan again".

"They won't get far...". With that said, Nelly picked up the radio once more.

Hughes and Burges braced themselves.

Thankfully, it didn't squeak. "Quiet place". She whispered to the radio, "Whisper".

"What's your twenty?" Nixon whispered.

"We're surrounded".

"You should've listened to me".

Nelly frowned over at Hughes. "I know".

"Anything else?"

"Panzer unit is set up southwest from here". Nelly whispered, "We think they're going to reach Carentan again from the west side of town".

There was a short pause. "Right". Nixon whispered, "Can you get out?"

Eyes closing, Nelly tried to picture the map in her mind. "There's a gap between hill30, La Taute and the railroad tracks...I think we could try that way...".

There was another short pause – Nelly assumed Nixon was checking his map. "I see you". He said, "If you head between the railroad and La Taute, you'll come across a farm. If shit gets ugly, you stay there, and we'll come get you".

"Okay". Nelly complied.

Nixon sighed. "You did good". He whispered, "We'll prepare 1st Battalion for the incoming Panzer unit".

"Right, sir".

"See you soon, Murray. Over and out".

Switching the radio off, Nelly set it down and looked over at Hughes. "I'm sorry".

Hughes gave her a faint nod. "Me too".

Rubbing at her tired eyes first, Nelly picked up her binoculars and saw Hughes doing the same. With a frown, she reminded him, "You can still sleep".

"No". Hughes whispered, "I'm 'gonna watch".

"I don't think any of us will sleep, Nelly". Burges whispered, "Not until we get out of here".

"Nixon's right". Hughes told her, "You did good. And this...". He gestured around their outpost with a tiny smile. "It's not a waste of time".

"We're doing good". Nelly corrected him softly.

Hughes smiled. "Not this sentimental bull-crap". He teased lightly.

"Facts". Nelly argued softly. "Just facts".