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Walking down into the cellar, Nelly saw last night's patrol dotting around. Men were gathered at the table, playing a game of cards, some stood around while others cleaned their weapons. Then Nelly's stare spotted Cobb leaning against a pillar, drinking schnapps. Reaching the bottom step, she moved over to the table. Standing at the end, Nelly's fingers gently pressed against the dark wood. She was only a few inches from Lieutenant Jones, who cast a curious glance at the girl. And the cellar fell into a small silence, as eyes looked toward them.
Nelly was staring at the table when she said, "So…Lieutenant".
"Sergeant". Jones addressed with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe…". She began to mumble, "I was a bit…mean".
Nodding, Jones leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Go on".
Exhaling a quiet puff of her, Nelly's eyes widened softly – mostly out of embarrassment or maybe she felt a little frustrated. Either way, Babe found it pretty funny – he was engrossed. Nelly pressed another finger down on the table. Clearing her throat, her eyes continued to stare down at the table.
She said quietly, "Last night…you were…really good, sir".
Jones's expression almost softened at the compliment. "Thank you, Sergeant". He sounded genuine.
Nelly slowly raised her eyes to meet his stare – they didn't glare at each other this time. With a small nod, she added, "You know…you'll do well here, sir. I just…I was scared because…I thought you wanted to get rid of Donnie".
Jones shook his head. "Not at all, Sergeant". He said, "I was hoping we could all work together".
"Oh – yeah, of course". Nelly said to him softly.
"One more thing". Jones uncrossed his arms to tell her, "I was genuinely concerned about your friend, Sergeant". He gave a nod to Webster. "And so was Webster".
Nelly's eyes briefly looked at Webster before she faced Jones again.
"I'm only here to fill the ranks, Sergeant". Jones said, "I didn't get to choose but I am glad to be here".
With a faint nod, Nelly stood at attention to salute Jones.
But he shook his hand, "This will do". Jones stuck out his hand.
Eyes softening, Nelly took Jones's hand and shook it.
"I look forward to working with you, Sergeant Murray".
"You too, sir".
It seemed Jones was "that" kind of Officer – a soldier's, soldier. An Officer who'd prefer to work with the men, rather than have them work under him. Speirs was a lot like that. So were Winters, Buck, Nixon and even Lieutenant Shames. They had a few Platoon Leaders who shared the same mindset as Jones. And Nelly felt they were lucky to have him.
When the handshake ended, Nelly remained where she stood and pressed her hand against the table. She was about to ask Jones how he thought the patrol went but Cobb's drunken voice rang out across the cellar.
"What're you looking at, Webster?"
Promptly, Webster looked away.
Cobb snorted and muttered, "Yeah…that's what I thought, college boy".
Letting out a tiny sigh, Nelly's eyes lowered to the table.
Twisted his body to face Cobb, Jones asked, "Are you drunk, trooper?"
"Leave me alone". Cobb mumbled.
Jones ordered, "Answer the question".
Cobb's head tilted toward the ceiling in a "so what?" manner. "Yes, sir, I am drunk, sir". His voice then quietened bitterly, and his head lowered, "Drunk. Sick and tired of fucking patrols, taking orders…".
"Hey, Cobb". Martin looked at him. "Shut up. It's boring, okay?"
Cobb huffed and his glazed eyes stared at the Sergeant. "Taking his side, Johnny?"
Martin turned his back on Cobb and replied, "Yeah…I am".
Biting down on her bottom lip, Nelly glanced over at Cobb. It was no secret Cobb could be a pretty mean drunk. He was in a lot of trouble now, seeing as he was drunk on duty. Nelly had never seen a man from Easy drunk on duty before. But she did think Martin's approach to Cobb was unfair and maybe even unkind. Everyone was sick of patrols and the whole war. It wasn't a time to fight with friends, not after all those years of fighting the enemy.
Hand leaving the table, Nelly made to walk over to Cobb. But Jones took her wrist.
"I wouldn't bother him, Murray". He said to her quietly.
"Oh…it's okay, sir". Nelly assured him, "He's my friend".
With a small nod, Jones let her go – but he kept a close eye on Cobb.
Nelly underestimated Cobb from the start. Sure, he was kind and sweet – sober. But he was a different person entirely when drunk. Standing in front of Cobb, Nelly reached out and took a hold of his wrist. "You know…you should – "
Nelly's hold was near the bottle of booze Cobb was carrying and he saw that as a threat. He didn't see Nelly trying to help him, he only saw someone trying to stop him. And before anyone could even blink, Cobb punched her – right in the side of the face.
Not expecting to be punched, Nelly bit her cheek and tongue and fell to the ground.
Immediately, men who had been sitting sharply rose to their feet.
And like a pack of wolves, they all charged at Cobb.
Men yelled and screamed in his face.
Grant had Cobb by the collar and pinned him up against the pillar. They all wanted to release the rage they felt inside and throw it in Cobb's face. Blinded by anger, the men seemed to forget about Nelly lying on the ground. She sat up slightly, spitting blood out of her mouth. Feeling a little dazed, Nelly stared up at the gaggle of angry men and watched them throw in a few fists at Cobb.
Thank God, for Lieutenant Foley – who had been passing by the cellar entrance and heard all the noise coming from inside. When he reached the bottom step, Foley forced his way through the men and pushed them away from Cobb.
"Enough!" He snapped, "Dammit guys! What the hell is going on?!"
"He punched – oh shit, Nelly!"
When heads turned to look her way, Nelly held up a hand. "S'okay". She somewhat slurred with a faint lisp.
Moving away from the mob, Martin knelt next to Nelly. Using his sleeve, he mopped the blood off her mouth and chin. "You okay, kid?"
"Bit…sore…". Nelly said to him quietly.
Foley faced Cobb with a glare. "You idiot, Roy!" He snapped, "What the hell are you doing? You're on duty!"
"Aw, shove it up your ass". Cobb slurred.
"What?!"
And then Cobb punched Foley.
The men began yelling again and they manhandled Cobb to the floor.
"Jesus Christ!" Foley roared, "Someone get Speirs – now!"
It was Webster who fled the scene to grab Speirs.
Grabbing a hold of Nelly, Martin said to her, "Let's sit you up". And he did so, easily. Martin made sure her back was pressed against the wall before he opened her mouth to check the damage inside. "Well…you've still got your teeth, kid".
Nelly gave him a faint nod – at least that was a bit of good news. Nelly felt a little silly, thinking she was going to help Cobb. And she felt embarrassed about getting punched in the face in front of everyone.
Martin placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Sure you're okay, kid?"
Eyes to her lap, Nelly nodded. "Yeah". She whispered.
Jones stared down at Martin and Nelly. "Is everything alright?"
"I think so, sir". Martin replied.
Babe glared down at Cobb and barked, "The fuck did 'ya do to her, you bastard!"
Nelly's next concern was her cousin.
He was not going to be happy.
Speirs was mad. They could all tell by the way his boots pounded loudly against each step, it almost felt as though the ground was shaking with anticipation. Webster looked slightly nervous walking behind the Lieutenant. When Speirs reached the bottom step, everyone fell silent. Cobb didn't make a sound – no one did. It was so quiet; they could have heard a little mouse scurrying along the ground.
Speirs's dark and thundering eyes looked over at Cobb, who was lying down on the floor, with Grant's knee digging into his back. And Speirs nodded – as if approving the men for holding Cobb down. But then his eyes looked down at Nelly.
Nelly couldn't even look at him.
Taking in a deep breath, Speirs looked at the men surrounding Cobb. "What's wrong with my Sergeant?" His voice was surprisingly calm.
"She got punched, sir". Martin replied quietly.
Speirs bobbed his head. And then he addressed Cobb, "Did you punch my Sergeant?"
It seemed Speirs had created quite a tense atmosphere. He inflected fear onto everyone – even the innocent. And Cobb seemed to freeze. He didn't respond.
With a sharp sniff, Speirs walked over to Cobb and squatted by his head. "I'll ask again". His voice was low and frightening. "Did you…punch…my cousin?" He asked him slowly and each word seemed to add to the ever-growing tension.
Quietly, Cobb replied, "Yeah, sir".
"You stupid sonofabitch". Speirs said. Rising to his feet, he gave Foley a nod. "Take him to HQ, they'll deal with him".
"Yes, sir". Foley complied and then said, "Alley – help me out here, would you?"
"Sir".
With Cobb being dragged up the stairs, Speirs took Martin's spot and crouched in front of his younger cousin. Her head was bowed, in shame. And she whispered to him, "I'm sorry".
Speirs looked over his shoulder and the eyes staring their way quickly looked at other things inside the basement. Drawing out a quiet sigh, Speirs faced Nelly again. "For what, huh?" He said to her quietly. "You didn't do anything wrong". He couldn't act too soft with Nelly in front of the men. "Listen, we'll talk later, alright? I've 'gotta clean up this mess".
Nelly gave him a faint nod and whispered, "Okay".
Speirs gave her shoulder a squeeze before standing up. He addressed the men. "In an hour or so, Captain Winters, Nixon and I, will be down here for a short debrief. You men stay put for now. Understand?"
"Yes, sir". They responded.
Speirs left quickly and quietly.
And once he closed the door, the men let out the long breaths they had been holding.
...
"Ten-Hutt!" Martin called out when the Officers stepped into the basement.
The men all rose to their feet.
"Martin". Winters gave the Sergeant a nod.
"Sir".
"This everybody, Grant?"
Grant nodded, "Sir".
They all followed the Captain and walked toward the table. Some sat down, some remained on their feet. Nelly stood at the end of the table, almost standing directly behind Babe. Taking off his helmet, Winters set it down gently.
"You all did an excellent job last night". Winters started to tell them, "I'm proud". He said, "I just saw Colonel Sink. He's proud too. In fact, he's so proud, he wants you to do another patrol across the river tonight".
Nelly saw Babe's shoulders drop in defeat. But otherwise, the men didn't outwardly complain.
Winters checked his watch and said, "Any moment now, the outpost we hit last night will go up in flames, Martin?"
"Yes, sir". Martin confirmed.
"It means we'd have to venture farther into town this time". Winters said, "Captain Speirs, you have the map, please?"
"Yeah". Speirs cleared his throat and stretched his arm out toward Grant. "Sergeant Grant".
Taking the map, Grant unfolded it onto the table.
Winters peered down at the map. "We have enemy movement here and here…". His finger pressed down on those specific areas. Most of the men began leaning forward over the table to see the map. Winters continued, "Which means this is our new house target, here".
A couple of men lit up a cigarette.
Winters said, "We recovered all the boats, so we'll set off from the same place as last night".
Martin looked at him. "We're not changing the plan any, sir?"
"No. Plan is the same". Winters said, "It will be 0200 hours instead of 0100 hours…is that clear?"
"Yes, sir". The men replied.
"Okay. Good, because…". His voice trailed off for a moment. "I want you all to get a full night's sleep tonight".
Heads raised at that quiet order.
"Which means". Winters continued lowly, "In the morning you will report to me that you made it across the river, into German lines but were unable to secure any live prisoners". Winters's gaze shifted between the men. "Understand?"
"Yes, sir". Their response was a lot lighter now.
"Good". Winters picked up his helmet and added, "Look sharp for tomorrow. We're moving off the line".
As the Officers ascended the stairs, the men in the basement beamed brightly.
"Did I fucking hear that right?"
"A good man". Grant said with a smile.
"Moving off the line…". Babe uttered quietly. And then smiled down at Nelly. "Can you believe this, Bricks? We're leaving this shithole".
"What about Winters, huh?" Popeye smiled. "Boy, he sure is something, ain't he?"
"Hey – it's like Christmas". Babe shook Popeye's hand. "Merry Christmas, huh?"
Popeye chuckled and said, "Sure feels like it".
Quietly and unnoticed, Nelly left the basement and walked outside.
She made it just in time to witness the German OP explode in a roar of destruction and flames.
There marked the end of a horrible patrol for Nelly, anyway.