Better late than never, huh? I was a bit under the weather last week and since school is already nearing its end (hallelujah!), we have a lot of work to do.
! Warning for this chapter: Attempted sexual assault ! Nothing too graphic, but please proceed with caution if this is a sensitive topic for you!
On another note: I've had a few messages from some of you lovely readers, commenting how you ship one of the women with one of the guys. Now, I'm genuinely curious what your ships are, so if you have any, feel free to leave me a review or PM :) Who knows, maybe one or two might make it into this story?
The ships I already got are:
Maxine / Guarnere
Louise / Liebgott
Mia / Speirs
Mia / Roe
Do you share these? Do you have others? Let me know. Now I hope you enjoy the chapter and I wish you all a good night (or a good day, depending on where you are).
Frequently, when they had the evening off, the soldiers would go to the pub, have a few drinks, play cards or darts or crabs or dance with the local girls, nurses and Red Cross women.
Louise carefully made her way through the crowd, two drinks in hand, trying to reach the table where Frances was shuffling her beloved pack of cards. "Here you are", the blonde said to her friend, setting a beer in front of her.
"Thanks, Louise. Want to join?", Frances asked with a smile that had a wicked edge. The occupants of the other chairs were Geraghty, Pace and Toner, three replacements.
She shrugged. "Sure, why not."
The grin on Frances' lips widened a fraction. Turning her head, Louise saw that she wasn't the only one who had noticed it. There were matching smirks of gleeful anticipation on several Toccoa veterans' faces.
"Alright then, ladies and gentlemen", Frances announced, cards blurring in her fingers, "we're playing Omaha, the ante is ten bucks or ten smokes, same worth."
Ramirez pulled up a chair and tossed in a handful of dollars. "Deal me in, too."
"Be prepared to lose, I smell a winning streak in the air", Louise joked, taking a sip of her beer.
He laughed.
.
The poor, unsuspecting replacements stood no chance. Frances was in her element.
Pace soon cut his losses, admitting defeat with a disappointed but good-natured "Seems like it's not my best night." He wished his buddies luck and excused himself, heading to the bar for a little pick-me-up.
"What a wimp", Toner snorted, shaking his head. "He only lost about 50 bucks 'cause he folded at the first sign of trouble."
Louise smirked and added another ten smokes to the pot. "Meanwhile, your brave refusal to fold has cost you 200 bucks already", she remarked drily.
Frances chuckled and called to Maxine, who was passing by: "Hey Sarge, want in? Ten dollars or ten smokes."
"No thanks, Frances, I prefer to keep my money", was the amused response.
"Aw, c'mon, it's not my fault the cards don't like you", the North Carolinian mock-whined, dealing a new hand.
Maxine waved off, laughing. "You guys have fun", she said, patting her on the shoulder. "Just try not to cause any financial ruin." Her tone was innocuous enough and her gaze included all participants in the statement, but she knew the underlying message had been received.
Ramirez looked up to her, eyes wide in feigned innocence as he asked: "Who, us? Never."
"We're all grown up, Max", Louise added with a smile. "But you're welcome to say 'I told you so' if we end up gambling our entire pay."
"Noted." With that, Maxine took her leave.
.
Ramirez eventually relinquished his seat to grab a beer and to chat with the guys from his squad. "Don't want to lose all my smokes in one night", he said, collecting his winnings and straightening his jacket.
Frances raised her half-empty glass in a toast. "Wise words."
Their numbers even again, the game continued. The pot grew steadily and with each passing round, so did Toner's frustration. "You're cheating!", he exclaimed eventually, stabbing an accusing finger at Louise. "You must be!"
The blond Brit arched an eyebrow and shot back: "With your dreadful poker face, I don't have to. If you go around calling people cheats, you better have proof to support your accusations."
Geraghty, who looked quite uncomfortable between his friend's outburst and the sniper's icy glare, attempted to assuage him. "Well...maybe you just had bad luck", he said. "C'mon, be a good sport. Here, have a drink, take a deep breath. Next round, it'll be better, you'll see."
The irked man blew out a breath and followed his comrade's suggestion. "Sorry, Sergeant", he ground out, sounding at least moderately contrite. "I lost my head a bit."
Frances, familiar with Louise's temperament, shot her a glance before turning to Toner. "Just be careful with allegations like these", she said, taking some of the gravity out of her words with a small smile. "Unfounded accusations won't get you far around here."
He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am", he muttered, adding a sincere "I'm sorry, Sergeant."
"Apology accepted", Louise granted, deciding to let it slide this time. After all, he had apologised immediately and they all just wanted to have a good time.
Frances grinned and flipped the cards through her fingers. "Alright, let's get back to the game, shall we?"
.
Toner's luck did improve and a few rounds later, he was happily arranging a bunch of cigarettes and dollars into neat piles. Pace came back to their table, but he preferred to watch – and peek at Geraghty's cards. He also fetched them another round of drinks.
Spectators came and went, observing the game from the side lines while tossing in the occasional comment or joke. Geraghty was easily distracted by the onlookers, a flush creeping up his collar. Pace came to his buddy's aid, whispering instructions and even going as far as to tell one of the more obnoxious men to "stuff it, it's hard work trying to win against these two."
"Well of course", Frances agreed, calling Toner's bet. "You'd be offended if we went easy on you."
.
Ultimately, the game came to an end without anyone harbouring hard feelings. Geraghty won the last hand, nobody had gambled their entire stock of smokes or cash, Toner had recovered a substantial part of his losses and the two women also had won a fair bit of money.
Frances collected her winnings and excused herself.
Theresa moved to stand next to her at the bar. "Nice one", she said. "Making them believe they got one over you."
The nimble-fingered North Carolinian smiled and took a long sip from her club soda. "Why am I not surprised that you figured it out?"
Theresa shrugged and ordered a club soda for herself.
"Toner lost the most", Frances continued easily. "93 bucks and 20 smokes. Geraghty's down 13 smokes and 27 dollars."
"Sounds about right", Theresa said casually, shifting to lean against the bar and let her eyes travel around the room. "So, 11 smokes and 40 dollars each?"
"Yep." After all, Ramirez and Louise deserved their share since they had aided and abetted her in her little scheme.
A grin playing around her lips, Theresa turned her head to look at her. "Just don't overdo it with fleecing the new kids", she cautioned. "They are green and cocky, not stupid."
Frances nodded. "Scout's honour."
At the same time, Maxine decided to call it a night. The heels of her pumps clicked quietly against the cobblestone pavement as she ambled down the road, the night air smelling clean and warm.
"Hey there pretty lady", a voice drawled behind her.
Maxine's shoulders tensed at the hated word and she kept walking. She didn't recognise the voice and even if it had been General Eisenhower himself, she wouldn't have stopped when addressed like that.
"Hey! Hey, I'm talkin' to you."
The man didn't drawl, she amended. He slurred. Oh great. A drunk replacement. She kept her stride even, but lengthened the steps.
"Hey!"
A hand grabbed her arm and pulled hard, making her stumble and turn. She bumped against the man's chest and immediately cringed backwards as the stench of his hot breath hit her in the face. Drunk or not, he had a good three inches on her and an advantage of about 80 pounds. His arms encircled her as she tried to twist away, pinning her arms to her sides.
"C'mon, darling", he panted into her ear. "I know you want it, too." His hands reached for her belt.
She squirmed, chest tight with panicked revulsion. "Let go of me this instant!" She stomped on his foot, ground her heel into his instep.
He growled in pain, relaxed his hold to clamp a hand over her mouth.
Maxine flailed, nails digging into the soft tissue between his thumb and index finger. The hand left her mouth, a curse ringing in her ears. Clumsy fingers tugged at her blouse.
Sheer desperation fuelling her strength, she jerked her head back.
White stars exploded in her vision and she staggered to the side, hand blindly reaching for purchase as dizziness made her knees go weak for a moment. She blinked a few times, recovering quickly, but not quickly enough.
He shoved her flush against the wall, his big hands all over her, body pressing close.
Bile rose in her throat and Maxine kicked.
The weight lifted off her as he lurched a step back, one knee buckling.
She socked him across the face.
He made a grab for her skirt.
A well-aimed uppercut and he went down.
.
Maxine hurriedly put some distance between herself and him, pulling in a few panting breaths.
He didn't get back up, stayed on the ground, holding his face.
Narrowing her eyes, she got a good look at him. Replacement. Private. Dog Company, if memory served her correctly. She opened her mouth to ask his name when a familiar voice called: "What the hell is going on here?"
She jumped and swung around before her brain had time to inform her that there wasn't a threat. It was Guarnere.
He took a few steps towards her, then paused when he noticed the man groaning on the floor. His sharp eyes flickered down to him and back to Maxine in the span of a second. "Max, what the fuck happened?" Judging by his tone, he had a very good idea of what had happened.
"It's-" It's nothing to speak of, she wanted to assure him, not wanting to make a scene. But the words got stuck in her throat, only a choked first syllable falling from her lips.
The door of the pub opened, light and people spilling out, no doubt alerted to the commotion by Bill's shout. The first three people out – and Maxine really wasn't surprised by that – were Luz, Catherine and Lipton. The latter two came over while Luz took one glance at the scene in front of him and turned around, hurrying back inside for reinforcements.
Maxine closed her eyes. Shit. She took another breath and willed herself to stop shaking. So much for plan A.
"Christ, Max, are you okay?", Martin asked, glower settling on his face when he looked at the man on the ground who was still moaning rather pathetically.
With all the poise of a diplomat's daughter, Maxine tucked her uniform shirt back into her skirt and forced herself to ignore the growing crowd around them as more and more Easy Company members came out of the pub.
"Yes, I'm quite alright, Johnny, thank you for your concern", she answered, smoothing down her rumpled clothes. "If somebody would be so good as to call the MP though, that would be appreciated." She wanted to keep it quiet, really, but with that many people around her, that wasn't an option. She was a Staff Sergeant, she had to set an example. Plus, a night in the stockade would give the man plenty of time to sober up and think about what he'd done.
.
Lip frowned, worry coiling in his stomach. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had transpired. The man on the ground, Maxine's dishevelled appearance, Bill's furious expression. If he hadn't known the Washingtonian so well, her polite and prim tone would have fooled him. But now, he recognised it as a sign for how disturbed and upset the young woman was.
"Yeah, call the MP!"
Because he was watching her closely, Lip didn't miss the wince flashing across Maxine's face when the man spoke up.
"Call the MP so they...they can ar- arrest this crazy bitch for...for atta- attacking me!"
Guarnere glared at the man. "Oh really?", he challenged, practically daring the man to continue.
"Yeah! Broad's been f-flirtin' with me all night an'...and then she punched me!"
"What?" Liebgott's eyebrows shot towards his hairline before pulling back down into a baleful scowl. "Are you fucking kidding me?", he snarled, advancing before Theresa's hand on his bicep stopped him in his tracks. "You expect us to believe that shit?!"
"It's true!", the man insisted, voice teetering on an indignant whine now as he hauled himself into a more upright position. "That bird's jus' actin' all...proper now. I could- I could tell that she wan- wanted it, too."
"That bird", spat Louise, taking a threatening step towards him, "is Staff Sergeant Lloyd, you puny cockroach. Insult her again and I promise you'll be singing soprano for the rest of your miserable life."
.
Maxine raised a hand even as level-headed people like Lip, Catherine or Bull moved forward to stop any of the hotheads from pouncing on the man. "Enough, please", she said. "He'll get his punishment and I don't want to hear that any of you got into trouble over this as well. It's not worth it."
Higgins, one of her own replacements, squeezed through the crowd to announce: "The MP are on their way, ma'am."
She gave him an acknowledging nod. "Thank you, Higgins."
Faced with the reality that he was now truly in deep shit, the man sank back down, moaning and wailing incoherently.
"Oh stop your snivelling!" Maxine glared down at him as if he were a particularly disgusting pile of dog excrement. "You've brought this onto yourself the moment you decided to behave inappropriately towards a superior and tried to take advantage of me. Now if you'll excuse me", she continued, voice wavering just the slightest bit, "I have to report this to Captain Winters."
A glance towards Lipton, Martin and Guarnere reassured her that her fellow NCOs would handle the rest. She turned on her heel and found herself flanked by Luz and Theresa.
"I'll go with you", Luz declared from her right, his usually cheerful expression clouded with anger.
Theresa took up position on her other side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let's go."
Luz took a moment to study the Washingtonian as they went to HQ. Her eyes were fixed firmly on a point straight ahead, her jaw set and her lips a thin line. Spine stiff and head held high, she was the picture of sophisticated aplomb, dignified and strong. Maxine reminded him of a swan. The embodiment of grace and elegance, but at the same time fiercely protective and very capable of breaking your arm when provoked.
"Are you okay, Max?", he asked, not knowing how else to broach the subject. He'd seen the aftermath of the attack on Mia, Theresa and Catherine aboard the Samaria, he could guess the answer, but the silence was getting too heavy, too tense for him.
"No", the tall brunette replied emphatically. "I'm not. I'm furious." Air hissed through her teeth as she exhaled, the emotions that had been stirred up inside her coming out as frustrated anger. "You'd think that the Army would instil enough self-discipline into the men to retain at least a modicum of dignity and control of themselves, but no...", she trailed off, shaking her head. Her blazing gaze dipped to the ground for a second. "How is it that a replacement private can think that he has the right to just take whatever his alcohol-fuelled mind desires?"
Theresa's expression shifted. "Max..." The word hung in the air, an expression of pained empathy.
"It shouldn't have happened", Luz offered quietly. He was unaccustomed to hearing so much bitterness in his friend's voice, but he understood the women's frustration. If he were in their shoes, he'd be sick and tired of constantly having to prove his worth.
Maxine nodded sharply. "No, it shouldn't have. But it did. Just like it shouldn't have happened on the Samaria, but it did." As soon as the words left her mouth and she saw Theresa's shoulders stiffen, she regretted it. "Reese, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"You don't have to apologise, Max", the other woman assured her with a wan, sad smile. "After all, you're right."
Luz looked over at his friends. "You know that you're not just some pretty dames to us, right?" He had to ask, needed to hear them say it. "We trust you. You know what you're doing and you're good at it, too."
He received two appreciating, sincere smiles and they both confirmed that yes, they knew that.
"And you can also be pretty damn scary sometimes if you want to", he added, grinning when the women laughed.
.
Arriving at HQ, they weren't overly surprised to discover that their CO was still in his office. Captain Winters looked up from some paperwork when they entered.
"What is it?", he inquired, taking note of the serious look on Luz' face, the frown twisting Nolan's eyebrows and the restrained anger in the lines of Lloyd's features.
"Sir", the Staff Sergeant spoke, "I'd like to report a case of harassment."
He set down his pen and gave them his undivided attention. "What happened?"
"A drunk private saw fit to accost me on my way back to barracks and behaved himself highly inappropriately", Maxine responded promptly, her formal wording and factual tone at odds with the outrage and revulsion flashing in her eyes. "I demanded he cease his indecent advances, yet he continued in his attempt to force himself onto me. I defended myself and had the MP called."
Luz and Theresa added their own accounts, the latter confirming that in the pub, Maxine hadn't interacted with the man at all, much less done anything that could have been misconstrued as flirting.
"I only had half a beer, sir", Maxine added. "Nothing more. I'm sure Corporal Hernandez, or Sergeants Malarkey and Toye can vouch for that."
Winters nodded his acknowledgement although he had no reason to doubt the woman. Instead, he asked: "Are you hurt?"
A rueful smile ghosted across Maxine's lips. "I'm going to have a bump on the back of my head and maybe a few bruises, but nothing serious."
"He hit you in the head?", Luz questioned, concern mixing with anger.
She shook her head and clarified: "I gave him a headbutt to the chin."
"Ah."
.
Relieved to hear that Maxine hadn't suffered any serious injuries in the reprehensible attack, Captain Winters told her to get herself checked out, just to be on the safe side. "I will speak with the COs of D and F company", he said, rising from his chair. "This issue needs to be addressed; I don't want this to happen again."
"Yes sir", the three soldiers agreed.
After reassuring them that the offender would be dealt with accordingly, he thanked Maxine for reporting the incident.
"Thank you for hearing my side, sir", she responded with a grateful dip of her head. "Good night, sir."
Theresa and Luz echoed: "Good night, sir" and they took their leave.
As the door clicked shut and the footsteps retreated, Winters blew out a long sigh. Four women of his company had been victims of sexual harassment so far. And five women had been involved in a physical altercation to defend themselves or each other from such an attack.
He had no doubt that the NCOs would make it clear to the replacements that any inappropriate behaviour towards one of Easy's own wouldn't be tolerated and he was quite certain that Lt McMillan and Lt McFadden, the commanding officers of Dog and Fox company respectively, took an equally dim view of such acts.
The trip to the infirmary was brief.
Captain Martha Osborne, who had started boot camp with them but had transferred to the WAC early on into their training at Toccoa, examined Maxine with the standard efficiency of an army nurse and quickly determined that the woman's injuries weren't serious.
"You're gonna have a headache to match that goose-egg on the back of your skull there", she said, handing her an icepack and some aspirin. "But that's nothing time and some rest won't cure."
With a clean bill of health, Maxine and Theresa headed to their billet, all too eager to go to sleep and just forget about the whole mess for a few hours.
.
The next morning, the battalion's female senior non-coms sat together during breakfast, holding an impromptu meeting to discuss the situation. Maxine, knowing that she was among like-minded peers, allowed herself to vent some her frustration.
"I'm a staff sergeant, for crying out loud", she said, setting her cup of watery coffee down with a touch more force than intended. "I earned those stripes all by myself, through hard work, not money or favours of ill repute. And yet, these...boys" – she uttered the word as though it was the most grievous insult – "have the gall to question and disrespect me at every turn because all they see is a pretty dame."
Audrey nodded. "This really is a problem", she agreed. "We've worked hard to get where we are, but it's like being back in basic. I thought I was done worrying about ending up with a bullet in my back because some poroheahea, a... a numbskull thinks I don't belong here."
They all had similar complaints about the replacements whose behaviour towards them could only be classified as borderline insubordination. Most of the new boys had settled by now; the nervous and insecure ones had started to relax while the self-important and rude ones had been dealt a lesson or two in humility. But, as the events of the last night had demonstrated, there were still a few who held not even a shred of respect for them or their rank.
.
"The biggest issue is they can't handle their liquor", Theresa pointed out, pushing her plate away. "Normally, they don't risk being openly insubordinate because they know we'll put them in their places. But when they're drunk, the rational part of their brain is turned off."
"But we can't exactly police their alcohol intake", Catherine sighed.
Louise scoffed and commented, words heavy with sarcasm: "Yeah, that'd go well." She balanced her knife with its tip on the table top, thoroughly unperturbed by the fact that she was adding another hole to the already groove-riddled wood.
Maxine rubbed her temples, already sensing the beginnings of a headache. "We'll just carry on as usual", she said, squinting at her friends. "I'm not scared of them. I know the guys have our backs."
"And if something like this happens again", Louise continued with a smile, "we'll make sure they'll regret it for a very long time."
Theresa downed the rest of the sludge the army was passing as coffee. "Louise, anyone ever tell you that you enjoy this way too much?"
The sniper shrugged unrepentantly. "Once or twice."
"Mhm."
The five women looked at each other and giggled.