Chapter 33: The Sergeant of Desert
"I never liked you," growled Sergeant Donathan as he glared at Gerald in his office while Patten was tied to a chair nearby. "You convinced this Scout to befriend me so that he could have access to the books I have on how to work the Radio Tower so that you could reactivate it to send some kind of message. Who did you send the message to and what did it say?"
Gerald sighed heavily. "I sent the message to Rottenburg and all it said was 'Help'."
"Don't lie to me! How do I know you're not a Robot Spy posing as a Medic and you just sent information about our forces to your friends at Lakeside?"
"If I was a Robot Spy, I would have a watch on me but as your Soldiers found out, I don't carry one."
"He's right, Sergeant," said one of the Soldiers who stood next to Patten.
"Pipe down, hippie! I'll be the judge of whether he's right or wrong. Besides, why do we need help from those Commies at Alpine? We've got everything completely under control here in Desert."
"Are you sure? You've lost Lakeside and then you send your own son on a suicide mission to bring it back. If he fails to reclaim Lakeside, then the Robots will turn their eyes towards Bigrock. What will you do then?"
"Franklin is not my son! Benjamin was my son, but you took him from me! I'll defend this place if I must, but you, Herr Doktor, have no right to interfere in my business. Take your Scout friend and go. If I see your maggot face around here again, I'm going to mail my boot to the Kaiser with your a** around it! Do you understand that?"
"Jawohl (Yes, sir)."
"Sergeant!" shouted a Soldier who suddenly burst into the office. "The Soldiers you sent to Lakeside a few days ago have returned, but most of them are dead."
Donathan's face suddenly went from a frown to a look of horror. "Is Franklin okay?"
The Soldier hesitated, then he said. "He wasn't breathing when they brought him in. I think he's dead."
In response, Donathan pushed his way past the young Soldier down the hallway with Gerald following him. They made their way out of the main Base, past the other buildings, and stopped the entrance to the mines where a large number of Soldiers in BLU uniforms were gathered. Most of them looked exhausted, while their fallen comrades lay on the ground in bloody heaps as the people stood on the side-lines. Donathan made his way to a large crowd surrounding the body of Franklin, whose medium brown mop looked disheveled, his hands were limp, and he made no sign of motion. While Donathan gazed upon his son with tears staining his grisly beard, Gerald kneeled down and examined Franklin. After a few minutes, Gerald's eyes widened.
"Sergeant, your son is still alive," Gerald said, looking up at Donathan.
But Donathan only glared at Gerald and punched him so hard that he went flying into a nearby building. "I thought I told you to leave."
With Gerald incapacitated, Donathan picked up Franklin's body and carried him back to the main Base.
End of Chapter 33