A/N: Hey all, firstly, a massive apology to all who waited for me to update this story. Life has been...interesting to say the least. I've had a lot going on, mostly positive, but it's left me with little time to slow down and relax (I do that to myself to be honest), so I decided yesterday to sit down and go through my old stuff, and remembered I'd left this on standby for two years...(In which time I've graduated, got a job and and have generally improved as a person) and now here I am, with a chapter I'd actually written at some point last year with more to come. I hope you can all forgive me for disappearing but I'm gonna try and work my way through the Men of St G to the best of ability.
Chapter 16
Machine gun bullets whipped past Henry's head, causing him to duck as the cracks got closer and closer.
"Bloody hell!" he pulled shut the turret hatch.
"Bit loud up above Sir?" Tim started rotating the turret around as the Comet shot down the woodland path.
"I think he's pissed off." Henry peeked out of the commander's viewpoint only to duck straight back down as another hail of bullets clattered against the armour.
"Well we did steal their latest vintage of wine the other night."
"Yeah, but they don't have any proof."
"We literally do it every time we come here."
"Well they should try harder to protect it!"
Two nights ago
"For Christ's sake Arthur shush, I could have shot you in the dark without even having to see you." Henry pulled Arthur into a bush.
"Easy boss, we've only just met."
"Oh, shut up." Henry peeked through the massed leaves. The Anzio stores lay just ahead under heavy guard.
"Ok, there's a lot of them." He dropped back down to face his crew.
"Remind me again why we do this?" Richie muttered to the group
"Because Giuseppe taunted me about it that one year and now I have to keep doing it, it's a matter of honour!"
"I still think we'd be better off nicking their pasta supplies." Richard joined the conversation
"No because then we'd actually starve them out. We've managed to steal this wine two years running, and I'm not going to stop this year!" Henry slammed his fist into his other palm.
There was another rustle from above them and the boys froze, keeping their breathing quiet.
"Rosehip no! that branch isn't – "there was a crack and a blur of red and black fell from the tree above them.
"That branch isn't stable…." Assam's long mane of hair poked out of the tree
"Assam! Rosehip! What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Henry hissed as Richie pulled his stunned girlfriend to the side. Rosehip patted his face.
"Oooo two of you? This could be fun"
"Rosie not now." Richie clamped a hand over her mouth.
Pekoe slid down the tree as Darjeeling appeared around the trunk, holding a hand over her mouth to hide her grin.
"Seriously?!" Henry scowled in mock annoyance
"Well you've been acting all mysterious for the last couple of days, we were wondering what mischief you had planned this time." Darjeeling slid next to Henry.
"What do you mean -this time-, we behave ourselves… Anyway, besides the point, you're interrupting a very important mission here, top secret."
"Stealing wine is top secret now?" Darjeeling arched one perfect eyebrow at him.
Henry groaned and turned to look at his crew "Alright who spilled the beans, let the cat out of the bag, you know that sort of thing."
"Actually, it was you Hal dearest." Darjeeling waved a wad of paper in his face which was titled, in big bold letters "ANZIO WINE THEFT 2018"
"Ah."
"You're not very good at naming operations, are you?"
"Well I like to think literally you know…"
Voices came from the other side of the brush and the St Gloriana crew froze, a large mass of Green hair walked past, accompanied by a blonde.
"Shit its 'Chovy, she's not meant to be here tonight." Henry hissed at Darjeeling
"Now now, this has nothing to do with me."
Henry peeked over the bush, Anchovy and Carpaccio stopped outside the store house, where they were met by two of the male team.
"Buggering hell, Giuseppe is here as well. Right…." He turned to his crew, we're going to have to do Operation: Battle of Malta."
"Where are we getting the Hurricanes from?"
"Oh, shut your gob you smart arse." He slapped Arthur on the head, "Right, who's the fastest one here…."
Every head turned to look at Rosehip.
Rosehip, now daubed up in black face paint and wearing a balaclava, began to make her way towards the storage area, the Anzio commanders were still there, so Henry had devised a plan to draw them away.
"This isn't going to work." Richard muttered to his Commander
"Oh yes it will."
"I'll bet a fiver that it doesn't." Arthur butted in
"Done."
"I'm with Henry, this'll work." Assam chimed in.
"Well if Assam is saying it will work, I think I'll to join in as well." Tim also joined the bet
Everyone turned to Richie, who held his hands up "I'm not betting on my girlfriend! It's unethical!"
"Oh please, you're perfectly happy to let me use her as bait, so why not put some money on it" Henry grinned at his driver like a Cheshire cat.
Richie sighed "Fine, a fiver on it working."
"Good man! Darling?"
"Oh, very well." Darjeeling let out an exasperated sigh "Five Pounds on it failing."
"Oooh risky move dear."
"Shut up Hal."
Henry chuckled and turned back to the scene unfolding ahead.
"She does look rather…. suspicious doesn't she." Arthur scratched his head
"Yeah you could say that. Was it the thug like appearance that gave it away?" Richard nudged his brother in the shoulder.
Henry waved them quiet, "Shush, here we go."
Rosehip slipped into the shadows at the side of the storage, being to climb up some wooden crates that had been stacked next to one of the windows. Henry held his breath as she reached the top of the stack when her foot slipped and one of the boxes crashed to the ground. Anchovy, Carpaccio, Giuseppe and the other male turned in alarm and made their way around to the side. Rosehip leaped off the crates and made a dash for it, followed by shouts from the gathered Anzio tank crew.
"Ok go go go." Henry and the lads made a dash for the front door of the storage which had been left ajar whilst the girls watched in amusement. The yelling faded into the distance as Rosehip led the Anzio crew on a wild goose chase.
Henry slipped through accompanied by Arthur whilst the others kept watch, flicking on a torch he'd had stowed in his jacket he searched through the seemingly endless boxes of pasta until he found what he wanted.
"Aha!" he gave a shout of triumph, grasping hold of two wine bottles. "I've got the goods!" he passed the bottles to Arthur and left a note on the crate.
"Shit Hal, they are coming back!" Richie urgently gestured for them to get out.
"Alright go." The lads slipped back out of the storage door, but as they were moving the Anzio Captains came back around the corner.
"Run!" Henry kept his face down as they legged it from the storage, hearing a barrage of choice Italian swear words following them.
Present day
"I mean like, the wine wasn't even that good boss." Arthur slammed a shell into the breech.
"Ah it was alright, got the job done didn't it?"
"Yeah but the hangover was really not worth it, wine hangovers are the literal worst."
"Oh stop your wining, it's tradition."
"Bloody Nora!" Richie swore as he swerved the Comet sharply to the left. Henry slammed his head into the side of the turret. The stoic driver startling the crew with his out of character swearing
"Christ on his Cross Richie, what was that?" Henry shouted down at his driver
"Sorry Hal, these bloody CV-35s are everywhere, almost crashed into one."
A shell whizzed past the turret, causing Henry to involuntarily duck.
"You know, I'm regretting putting us as bait."
"Again." Richard pulled the trigger, taking out a CV-35 that was attempting to flank the Comet, it flipped and crashed into a tree.
"Look here you, my strategy is different each time."
"You've used us as bait multiple times the last season."
"Well they've clearly not clocked on to it! Because it still works!"
The radio crackled and Tim picked up the receiver listening in to the incoming message. He looked up at Henry and nodded, "Davenports in position."
"Tell him to open fire." Henry opened the hatch again and poked his head out, taking up his pair of binoculars and peering ahead at the tree line. Just inside was the Cromwell section of the team, with the Valentines and Anti-tank group staying back. Anzio only had the CV-35s and the p40, as the two teams shared tanks due to funding issues. So, Henry had decided to just use the Cromwells for this match as they were more than enough for the job.
He tapped Tim on the shoulder with his foot, indicating he wanted the turret rotated, as it did so however, another hail of machine gun fire on a CV-35 rattled off the armour, one stray round plinking upwards and striking Henry in the shoulder, he grimaced as the blunt metal slammed itself into his flesh and he sunk back down, face contorted with pain. He took a few steadying breathes as the sharpness of the injury shrank down to a dull throb.
"I'll be feeling that for a few days."
"If you keep getting injuries like this you might as well retire now whilst the going is good Sir." Tim leant over from his position to assess the damage to Henry.
"and leave you silly lot on your own? Perish the thought…" he winced as Tim pressed down on the impact zone "Although I should -really- stop getting shot."
"You'll live Sir, but do try and follow through with that statement, otherwise her ladyship will butcher you." Tim patted his shoulder and moved back to his original position by the radio, "Oh and by the way, Davenport has engaged the P40, heading towards us now."
Henry nodded his head, "Understood, relay to Davenport that we're being harassed by the tankettes but will intercept if possible, and send out a general order to converge on the P40, the quicker we take out Giuseppe the less time we have to spend swatting flies."
A shell landed close to the Comet, splattering mud everywhere. One chunk defied all reason and managed to sail through the open drivers port and catching Richie in the face causing him to veer to the right, "Gah get it off, get it off I can't see the right buggering way to go!" he blindly attempted to direct the Comet forwards. Arthur, having finished loading for his brother, ducked down beneath the main gun to the drivers compartment and fished out a handkerchief.
"Hey, didn't mother send us those?" Richard snarked from his position as he took aim once more.
"Yeah well don't tell her I'm using it to clean mud alright?"
"What even is the point if you don't use it." Richie was slowly breaking to avoid being stabbed in the eye by Arthur's hand
"It's a symbolic thing or something, I don't know, now hold still or I'll accidently blind you permanently" Arthur swiped away the mud from Richie's eyes, clearing his vision.
"Alright so that's a tree." He jerked the tank to the left, throwing Arthur backwards.
"Well that's just bloody gratitude for you!" Arthur made to get back up but then his brother pulled the trigger and he had to dive out of the way of the empty shell casing.
"RICHARD!" said brother looked down from the gunner's seat, "Oh sorry Arthur, didn't you see you there!"
Henry smirked at his crewmates as a Cromwell burst forth from the treeline and slammed into a tankette, sending it spinning away, before unleashing a volley of machinegun fire at another.
"Got your rear covered Chief!" the radio crackled to life with the sound of Amos Fawcett's cheery voice.
"Many thanks Amos, keep the little buggers down will you?"
"Easily done! Fawcett out."
There was a burst of smoke and flame from further afield, and Arthur swung the turret to face it.
"That's the P40! Looks like he's just taken down Davenport, let's avenge him shall we?" Henry tapped Arthur on the shoulder. "I need you to double your efforts Arthur, get those shells out as quickly as you can alright?"
Arthur nodded in response, all sense of levity in the compartment had now dissipated, replaced by a calm sense of experience and professionalism.
"Richie if you will, straight into him." The driver accelerated, pushing the Comet's Rolls-Royce engine to the limit, speeding across the mud and branch strewn ground towards their intended play. A couple of tankettes attempted to intercept, but their attacks were brushed off and they were swiftly dispatched by the accompanying Cromwells.
"Get us around his back, I want to finish this in one, swift, strike." Richard glued himself to the gun sight, taking deep steady breathes. The P-40 turned away from the smoking corpse of Davenports Cromwell, clearly having been informed of the incoming threat.
"Just a bit closer now…." The Anzio tank took a shot, the 75mm round ricocheting off the ground and into the nearby clump of trees, shattering branches and sending large splinters flying.
"Get us in there whilst he reloads!" The Comet sped right past the rotating P40 and utilising one of Richies signature drift moves, righted itself and the main gun sighted on the P40s rear armour.
"Fire."
Richard grinned in response and pulled the trigger, sending a Sabot round souring through the cold winter air and smashing into the P40s vulnerable spot, smoke and a white flag simultaneously popped from the Anzio flag tank, signifying the end of the match.
Henry slumped back into his commanders' seat, the adrenaline flooding out of his system and the dull ache in his shoulder intensifying into a painful throbbing.
"Tim, be a good chap and hand be an ice pack will you?"
"The ahem, melted ice pack Sir?" Tim sheepishly lifted the sodden first aid kit out from its compartment.
Henry sighed and raised his eyes to the heavens, "This is Karma for last night isn't it Lord?" He chuckled and winced. "Just get us back home quickly Richie, I'd rather not be black and blue for the party later"
Richie shook his head in mock sympathy before pushing onwards, to home and the girls.