December 8, 1941. Brooklyn, NY.

Ada,

I'm sure you've heard by now that America has been attacked. Pearl Harbor was bombed yesterday. If we weren't going to war before, we sure are now. I hope that means I can join you. Are you safe? I haven't heard from you in a while. Nurses are usually safe, right?

I love you,

Steve

February, 1942.

Steve,

It's so nice to hear from you. We've been working tirelessly in hospitals around Britain. I do hope you stay in Brooklyn, dear. War is an unsightly thing. The less people who have to see this is better. I'm sorry for not writing as often, I've been so tired once I return to my bed. I miss you dearly and love you.

Yours eternally,

Ada.

Stalingrad, September 1942.

War was hell. A shell exploding nearby made her ears ring and teeth clatter together. Ada gripped the rifle in her hands tighter and grit her teeth as she crawled to the edge of the partly destroyed wall she was taking cover behind. She had only a few bullets left before she would need to leave her position and scrounge for more. Daylight was ending in a few hours and she would try and wait it out to leave then.

At the rate of those falling around her, it was a miracle that Ada was still standing.

The last place she truly had wanted to return to was the USSR but here she was, stuck behind a bombed out wall with Nazi bombardments raining down on her and countless rounds firing off in the distance. Another shell exploded nearby and she laid her head back against the wall, willing the ringing in her ears to stop. She paused, tilting her head to the side.

Footsteps.

Ada raised her rifle at the ready but lowered it when she saw the woman peering at her from the rubble. The woman pulled herself up to lean against the wall next to Ada, a rifle of her own slung across her back. Mosin-Nagant bolt-action. Soviet.

"Fucking Nazis," the woman said in the sharp tongue of Russian. Ada let out a bitter laugh and nodded in agreement.

"How many you get?" The language of her birth rolled off of her tongue easily and Ada felt nearly sick at the idea of speaking it once more.

"Not enough. You?"

"Not enough."

A shell rocked the building and the two women flinched as dust rained down on them. Ada adjusted her grip on the rifle once more and peeked her head up and over the wall to see the flash of a red armband off in the distance. They were creeping closer.

"My name is Yulia, you?" the woman asked.

"Irina," she lied. "From Petrograd."

"Good to have you with us here. Need all we can get to stop these fucking pigs."

Ada nodded, her eyes darting back and forth to search for any kind of sign before she settled back down. She briefly looked over at Yulia to see the dark haired woman fidgeting impatiently. Ada paused, her eyes trailing up to see a silver chain hanging around the other woman's necklace.

Damn.

"So how'd you get all the way here?" Yulia asked.

"Comrade Stalin called for volunteers. I lived in Stalingrad when I was younger so I figured I know the lay of the land well enough to help."

"Ah, welcome back, comrade. Why did you leave our fine city to begin with?"

"I lost my family in a fire," Ada replied boredly. Her wool covered fingers adjusted the barrel of her rifle and she cocked it into position. Her fingers tapped against the wood of the rifle and she breathed in and out.

One.

"Oh, a horrible accident. My apologies to you."

Two.

"Not an accident. Intentional." Ada breathed out and inhaled the acrid, smoke filled air.

Three.

"Intentional? Like murder?"

Four.

"Comrade Stalin didn't see it as such."

Five.

"What do you mean?"

Six.

"You know what I mean."

Seven.

"Your parents were…"

Eight.

Ada snapped into action, raising her rifle and shooting up into a crouch to neatly fire a bullet directly between of the Nazi that was creeping towards them. She quickly switched her hand to pull a small blade out of her boot and launch it to bury into Yulia's shoulder to pin her against the wall.

"My parents were Jews," Ada snarled. She leaned down and snapped the silver chain off of the woman's neck, holding it up to the fading light of the day. A simple silver pendant hung from the chain but it was the brilliant red ruby in the middle that caused Ada to scoff.

"As if you didn't know that. Clearly they're lacking in their training if I figured you out that easily," she purred. The blonde slung her rifle over her back and ripped the one off of Yulia. She threw the necklace down onto the woman and spat at her for good measure.

"My instructions were to bring you in without harm," Yulia hissed. Ada smiled darkly and kneeled down so she could get closer to her. Her hand came up and grabbed onto Yulia, slender fingers digging in tightly around her neck.

"And my instructions are to burn you to the ground. Let this be a message to every single one of you. If you come, I will kill you, and I will have no hesitation to do so."

"You cannot win this war on your own," Yulia gasped out.

A devastatingly vicious smile spread across the blonde's lips. She leaned closer so the other woman was forced to look her dead in the eyes. Ada slowly reached up and yanked the blade out of her shoulder, her eyes glinting at the hiss of pain that escaped Yulia's throat.

"And you cannot win if I'm dead. Let's see which one comes first."

Ada stood up and raised her rifle in one swift move, firing a bullet directly into the woman's head. Looking down at the body, Ada let out another bitter laugh and then headed through the rubble to find a new hideout.