"What is it?" Upham asked as they all huddled around to hear an explanation.
"Machine gun. Probably MG-42," Horvath answered.
"Maybe one of them's our boy," Mellish implied. They had all been thinking the same thing when they saw the dead bodies.
"No, their patches are 82nd, so your luck's not that good," Miller said.
"You know, I don't know how fast the rest of you Betties are, but I'm thinking we detour this way quick and quiet, the krauts will never even know we were here," Reiben suggested.
"Betties," Tom-Tom scoffed. "How appropriate."
"So, Captain, what I'm trying to say is, why don't we just go around the thing?" finished the Brooklyn man.
"I hear what you're saying," Miller said while removing items from his uniform. "But we can't cut around it."
"I'm with Reiben, sir. I mean, we left them 88s," Jackson reasoned.
"For the air force. The air force isn't gonna spend ordinance on one machine gun," Miller said, pulling a few grenades out of his bag and placing them in his helmet.
"Especially one that's out in a practically open field," the brunette reasoned, "They'd see it before it even had a chance."
"Uh, Captain," Mellish said. "We can still skip it and accomplish our mission. I mean, this isn't our mission, right, sir?"
"Oh, that's what you want to do, Mellish? You just want to leave it here so they can ambush the next company that comes along?"
"No, sir, that's not what I'm saying. I'm simply saying, it seems like an unnecessary risk given our objective, sir," Mellish said calmly while censoring his words.
Captain Miller put his bag back on.
"Our objective is to win the war," he said.
"Sir, I just, uh, I don't have a good feeling about this one," Reiben hesitantly spoke.
"Well, when was the last time you felt good about anything?" He put his helmet on and ran over to an opening in the fencing. They followed him close behind. "Alright, three runners with suppressing fire. Mellish, you hook to the right," Miller said, forming his plan. "I'll go up the middle. Who's going left?" The captain looked at them. "Who's going left?"
"I'll do it," Jackson offered. "I'll go left."
"Alright," Miller said. "Upham, switch off with Jackson. Linger in the rear. We advance and keep pressure on him till he has to change out his barrels," Miller told them. Everyone was loading their guns and removing heavy gear from their back and sides. "I think we should be able to hit him from grenade range."
"Maybe I should go up the middle, sir," Horvath suggested.
"The way you run? I don't think so," Miller said.
"Maybe I should go left, sir," he persisted. Montie gazed at him curiously, and wondered why he was so eager.
"Maybe you should shut up," Miller angrily said. "Reiben, base of fire. Mags and clips where you can reach 'em and…and extra grenades for the base runners," Miller ordered.
Donnie turned toward her girls. "Montie, Tom-Tom, we're going to mirror a Y formation."
"I'll be stem."
"No Montie. You'd be of better use on the right branch. Tom-Tom."
"Yes sir?"
"You take stem."
"Aye aye cap-ee-tahn," the ebony haired girl mockingly saluted.
"Cover the men as best you can."
The two nodded.
Closer to the sandbags, the other three girls crouched low. They waited for the gunfire. The auburn had told Jack to act as backup. Bo and Jo would go at the enemy forces. The three had their pistols loaded and held a knife in their other hand. All of a sudden, gunfire rang through the air. Jo and Bo sprung into action and charged at the Nazi women. The red head unloaded a bullet in one of their stomachs. She quickly followed it with a neck snap. The violet eyed woman dislodged two of her bullets in to a second woman. Jack eyed the surrounding area. A shiny glint caught her eye. She aimed and pulled the trigger. A third special force fell to the ground. The three advanced deeper in to the bunker, successfully knocking down two more. The mass amount of gunfire ceased. The three searched until they found the company of men surrounding a small area.
"Shit," Bo muttered.
"Man down," Jo yelled.
The three hopped over the bunker and sprinted over. Each let out a gasp of horror as they saw Wade on the ground; critically wounded.
"Hill's clear! Four down and dead!" Horvath yelled.
"Make that nine," Jack added.
"Upham! Grab the gear and get up here! We need water!" Miller yelled.
"Get the morphine out of the extra medical kit!"
Jackson tore open Wade's shirt to reveal four bullet holes. Blood was pouring from them. Donnie's eyes were wide with fear and anger. She began to put pressure on his wounds.
"Son of a bitch," Horvath cursed.
"Get some sulfa on there," Miller commanded as Upham arrived.
"Move my legs up! Move my legs up!" Wade yelled in agony.
"Listen to my voice," Mellish told him.
"You're gonna be alright, Doc," Miller said, ripping open another packet of sulfa.
"How's it look?" Wade asked.
"Wade, you're fine," Mellish answered him in an even tone. "You're going on a hospital ship."
"Pull my legs up. Pull my legs up," Wade repeated quickly.
"I got 'em," Horvath said, lifting the medic's legs.
"How's it look?" he kept asking. Horvath gave him morphine in his left leg. "Am I shot in the spine?" Wade managed to ask between forced breaths.
They turned him over on his side to examine his back. Miller told him about the exit wound. They set him back down and Reiben walked away. The poor boy gagged and blood spilled from between his lips. The men began to cover the wounds. Mellish showed Wade with his other hand where the biggest wound was.
"Oh my god, my liver!" Wade yelled, obviously panicked. "Oh my god, it's my liver."
"Come on Wade. Stay with us," the verdant eyed woman yelled. Her eyes held the same agony.
"Come on Wade. Tell us how to fix you," Upham pleaded.
"What should we do?" one of the men asked.
"I…could use…more morphine."
The men looked at each other and nodded. Horvath injected more in to his leg. Donnie gripped his shoulders.
"Get through this," she muttered as his eyes lost life. "Live damn it!"
Jackson had Upham hold Wade's head. He then pulled Donnie into a standing position and led her away. She began to ramble. "No…no! Not you too, Wade." She made a quick turn and screamed, "Wade!" The sniper caught her before she could run back. "Just like Caparzo and Spence," she muttered, "Just like Spence…" she paused as her head whipped around. "Where's Mary," she asked quietly. "Mary!"
She squinted her eyes to see a motionless body. She rushed over only to confirm her suspicions. Her eyes stared into empty chocolate brown ones. Tears were no longer an option. Rage had taken over her being. The other four had run over as well. Montie sadly grabbed Tom-Tom's headband and handed it to the red head. She laid it in her bag. Jo shut the girl's eyes as some tears dropped. Montie began to sob as she realized how it could have been her. Donnie let out a terrifying scream as she rushed to where she saw Reiben go. The New Yorker, Jackson, and Mellish were beating on the Nazi that had killed Wade. The enraged woman pounced on top of the man and began to punch his face ferociously. The Nazi's eye reflected sheer terror.
"Ist das komisch?" she asked tauntingly. "Magst du Frauen töten?"
"Es war nicht ich," he pleaded.
She spit on him. "You damn son of a bitch! Liar!"
Reiben began to pull her off by her stomach. She fought him until he set her on a sandbag. Her anger had turned into remorse and grief. The normally strong leader let out a sob of mourning on Reiben's jacket. He rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Why does that fucker get to live?" she cried. "He killed Mary and Wade."
Bo, Montie, Jack, and Jo made their way to their leader. All of them held a blanket of grief. Reiben glanced and nodded in their direction. He slowly stood up and followed Miller, Horvath, and Jackson up the hill. A few moments later, Mellish followed them to where the Nazi and Upham were.
AN:
Donnie's taunt roughly translates to: "Is this funny?...Do you like killing women?"
His response is roughly: "It wasn't me."