Many thanks to my dear reviewers - bethrodrigues.77, Paul and Amanda. I'm glad that you liked this story so far :)
And now, without further delay... I present chapter 13. Enjoy ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Band of Brothers. This is purely of entertainment. It is based on the HBO miniseries and no disrespect is meant towards the real men of Easy Company.
Chapter Thirteen: Weakness Of The Company
During the next morning, the lads secured the town of Culoville. It didn't last long when they scattered across the squares and old stone yards, each with his own task. The company's new HQ was being set up, as well as the temporary Aid station.
The Aid station had once been the ground floor of a flower shop. But, after lieutenant Winters's orders, that quickly changed. Hand on heart, this place was much smaller than the one I had worked in Aldbourne. However, it had more light. The sun was freely entering through the windows, making yellow streaks on the walls and cots.
"Jesus..." Ralph's voice startled me a bit. I turned away from my paperwork and saw him squinting in the sunlight. "That damn sun again... I'm starting to miss good old England."
"Me, too, Ralph." A smile trod on my lips. "Me, too."
I sharpened my pencil and kept on writing. Needless to say, after my fainting in the barn yesterday, I had received my good old job. While Eugene and Ralph were treating the wounded, I was the one filling in reports and counting supplies.
The sound of the door opening made me turn around again. Gene entered the flower shop, carrying new boxes with bandages and morphine.
He soon raised his eyebrows. "Hey, colleagues."
"'Morning, Gene." I quickly stood up. "Do you need a hand with those?"
"Ummm... sure", Eugene fumbled, "Why not? Take this one, if it ain't heavy..."
I carefully took the box from the top. As I carried it to the nearest corner, I noticed something with the corner of my eye. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Ralph with a painting brush in his hand. Actually, he was painting a red cross over the shop door.
That sight meant only one thing – the three of us were back in business.
I sighed a little. It had reminded me of the old days back in England.
"Looks like the Aid station trio is together again." Ralph sniggered as he painted.
I raised an eyebrow, not believing my ears. "Aid station trio? Jeez, Ralph, that sounds like a bloody music band!"
As he was sniggering again, Ralph glanced outside.
"Speaking of trios, I wonder how our songs would look like", he said.
"How 'bout... My Faintin' Nurse?", Eugene suggested with a smirk, "Or The Girl Who Spat Speirs?"
Ralph burst into laughter. Blushing in an instant, I slapped both of their backs.
"Oh, you two... that's not even funny!"
To tell you the truth, I don't think that I will forget the look on Speirs's face. He didn't seem to care much for all my apologies. For a second, I thought that he would gladly shoot a hole or two in me. Perhaps that wasn't too far from the truth.
But, before he did anything, Nixon stepped between us, talking something about the intelligence he had found. I had no idea what he meant exactly. However, that made Speirs's attention shift from me to him. And I used that chance to scuttle off.
"I think he's gonna forgive you, now that some time passed", Ralph said.
"Don't be so sure about that", I muttered.
Ralph narrowed his eyes at me. But, he didn't have time to say anything, because somebody cheered outside.
Eugene furrowed his brow. Whoever was shouting, he wasn't alone. A few more voices joined, along with somebody's laugh.
What's going on out there? Turning my back on Ralph, I glanced through the window. A small group of men was just a few feet away, greeting a few newcomers. My heart jumped when I recognized most of them.
"Hey, what are ya...?", Gene asked, gawking at me.
However, before he could finish, I just stepped on the edge of the window. Jumping on the grayish pavement outside, I ran towards the men.
When I was only a few steps away, one of them caught my attention. Covered in mud and pieces of grass, he was a real mess, but he was still grinning. However, when he saw me, his grin turned into complete disbelief. He soon went towards me.
"Jessie?"
"Shifty?" I stared at him. "Where on earth have you been?"
"I got in the wrong drop zone, too. We were scattered all over Normandy." Shifty's drawl made me smile. Like Eugene's, Shifty's accent was also a bit funny. "It took me some time to come. And what about you? How did ya get over here?"
"Now, that's a very long story..."
Meanwhile, the news of the newcomers had spread to the other end of Culoville. Before I managed to turn around, half of the lads from Easy was here, greeting their friends and cracking jokes.
Bill was also here, with his famous grin. After greeting Bull and another lad, his gaze moved and his eyes met mine.
I playfully winked at him. He raised his eyebrows and came closer, as if he was going to greet me, too. But, instead of that, his hands grabbed my waist and lifted me from the pavement. He then spun me in the air, as if I was lighter than a leaf. When he finally brought me back, I couldn't help but grin.
"'Mornin', Jess."
"'Morning to you too, Shakespeare."
Winking back at me, he turned around and begun chatting with Shifty.
In the meantime, I noticed that my favourite colleague was nearby. Eugene was standing almost on the edge of the crowd. However, he wasn't smiling, nor talking to anyone. He was just standing there, gazing at the sky above us.
"Hey, Gene!" I made a few steps towards him, "What's the matter?"
He glanced at me. But, he didn't manage to answer, because a strange whizzing sound came through the morning light. And then something dark appeared in the sky. In the same second, somebody shouted:
"INCOMING!"
Before I could even blink, Eugene jumped on me, knocking me off my feet. We both fell down when something detonated behind us.
A burst of light blinded me for a moment. And then a horrific sound followed. It was a hundred times worse than any thunder I had heard. I covered my head with my hands as rubble showered on us.
The next moment, just as suddenly, silence spread across the entire town.
Holy mackerel... With my heart pounding and ears ringing like hell, I turned my head.
"Is everyone all right?!", I shouted.
The lads around me nodded, some of them covered in grayish dust. But, all of them were looking at the same spot.
My stomach instantly coiled. Not so far from the place Gene and I were lying, a huge hole was gaping in a building. Something had just blown it open on the second floor. I could clearly see a part of the room inside.
The medic and I slowly turned around and looked at each other. While Gene was becoming paler by the second, a terrifying thought hit me.
That could have been us.
XXX
Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.
Another explosion happened the next day, and then one more, a few days later. The lads would jump on their feet every time and go after the Germans responsible. But, in the end, Bill and the others would come back empty-handed.
When the lads returned the second time, I bit my lip hard. In a place like this, my chances for returning home were growing very thin. I couldn't go back to England when the town was being attacked. I had to stay and wait until the lads solved that problem. But, how long would that last?
While I was sitting on an old bench outside, I glanced at the shawl around my wrist. I wonder how Neve is today...
I slid my finger down the smooth fabric, when something came to my mind. I wasn't quite sure if it could work, but I had to give it a go.
I had to find Lewis Nixon.
Springing up from the bench, I went down a crowded street. Elbowing and squeezing my way between the men, I somehow made my way to an old hat shop. That was the new company HQ – or so I heard.
To my surprise, the door was slightly open. I peeked behind them, but I saw no one inside. Everybody had gone somewhere, for some reason.
Should I come in? I somehow had a feeling that it wasn't a good idea. But, how bad could it be? After a moment of hesitation, I checked if anyone was watching. Eventually, I held my breath and sneaked inside.
The first thing I saw was a table. It was in the middle of the shop, stacked with empty bottles, reports and old maps. More mas were pinned on the nearby wall. The sunlight was falling straight over the drawn coastlines and arrows.
I wasn't quite good at reading those kinds of maps. However, I was certain that something was going on – or that something was about to happen. I looked at one of the maps, trying to find out what the little black arrows were showing.
However, before I found out anything, a shadow appeared on the wall in front of me. In that moment, I realised that I wasn't alone.
Somebody grabbed my shoulder. My heart jumped to my throat. But, I didn't think twice. I jerked my other arm and stuck my elbow straight into my attacker. With a short groan, he suddenly let me go.
I dashed to the table and picked up the nearest empty bottle. Clutching it in my hand, I turned around, ready to swing it... just to see Nixon standing in the room.
"Jesus Christ!" He leaned against the wall, holding one hand over his left eye. "What were you thinking?! You could've knocked me out!"
I barely managed to swallow.
"Sir?!" I could already feel the embarrassment kicking in. All of a sudden, my cheeks were almost burning. "Oh, bloody hell... I'm terribly sorry, sir! I thought you were a..."
"A what? A damn Kraut?" He went past me and plonked himself on the nearest chair. I could see a reddish mark under his eye and it made me swallow even harder. Jeez, that will leave a bruise...
"Could... could I make you some tea?", I asked, hoping to somehow redeem myself.
Nixon winced when he touched his face. "Well, if that doesn't hurt, too."
Quickly nodding, I went to the old stove in the corner. Luckily, it was still working. I piked up a slightly dented kettle and filled it up with water.
I was just about to place it on the stove, when something boomed in the town. Just a second later, I heard running steps and shouting somewhere outside.
"Looks like the Krauts are askin' for trouble again", Nixon muttered.
"Really, now?", I asked sarcastically, "I had no idea..."
As I looked for a spoon, I glanced over my shoulder. And, truth be told, Nixon's expression made me frown. Unlike me, he seemed unusually relaxed. As the shouting outside slowly stopped, he took a bottle with some remaining whiskey in it.
Letting out a long, angry sigh, I sat on an empty chair. I wiped the sweat from my brow, when I felt the smooth shawl touching my skin. And then I remembered why I was actually here.
"Could I ask you something, sir?"
He shrugged. "Sure. Go ahead."
"Could you somehow..." I hesitated a bit. "...send my sister a message?"
Nixon looked at me. Soon after, he shook his head. "That can't be done. We're forbid to send any messages now, in case that..."
"...in case that somebody intercepts them. Yes, I know that. But, I'm not planning to write about your goals and tactics!" I raised my hands above the table. "I just want my sister to know that I'm alive... for now!"
I noticed that he was actually thinking about that. He wasn't such a bad person after all. I mean, he had given me a new job, after I had been kicked out of the factory. But, could he break a series of regulations just for me? Searching for any hope, I glance at the table between us. Unfortunately, I found nothing helpful – except maps, papers and whiskey.
Wait a second... whiskey? My gaze suddenly stuck to one of the bottles. The moment I saw the label on them, an idea sprung up in my head.
"Mr Nixon..." I sat up straight on my chair and looked him square in the eye. "I think I have a proposition for you."
He looked a bit confused. "A business proposition?"
I nodded. "If you help me, I'll be ready to give you something in return."
Nixon raised one of his thick dark eyebrows. "You're serious?"
"I'm quite serious, sir. If you send my message to Neve in Aldbourne, I'll give you a brand new bottle of Vat 69."
His second eyebrow suddenly raised itself. He was now staring at me in complete bewilderment.
"But, you don't have that, Miss."
"You're right. I don't. However, I know exactly where to find one. It will be yours as soon as you tell Neve that I'm okay." I reached out towards him. "So, do we have a deal?"
Nixon kept staring at me, as if I had just said everything in Chinese. For a second, I thought that he would say 'no' to everything. But, then he slowly took my hand and shook it.
Jeez... I tried not to wince because of his strong grip.
"You know, Miss Prichard..." A grin started to spread across his face. "I think we're gonna be very nice co-workers these days."
The corners of my lips slightly curved. Things couldn't be better than this.
"Well, sir... I think so, too."
XXX
When I got out of Nixon's 'office', Culoville was quiet again. I quickly went across a small square and trod to the Aid station. Perhaps Eugene and Ralph were still there.
I was just a street away from it, when a familiar man appeared behind a corner. He stopped in the middle of my way, gazing at me.
"Shakespeare?" A smile emerged on my lips. "How are you?"
He didn't answer. He kept staring at me, while his black eyebrows were almost touching each other. His lips were pursed into the thinnest line I had ever seen.
And that was more than concerning.
"Bill? What...?"
"Where the hell were ya?", he lashed out at me.
"Jeez, Bill, relax! I've just been talking with Nixon."
Bill's eyes became as wide as two dinner plates. "You were talkin' with Nixon when this place was hit?!"
"So what? Is that something wrong?"
To my surprise, he pointed a finger straight at me. When he eventually spoke, his voice was quiet. But, it was definitely promising trouble.
"You ain't goin' nowhere."
"Hey, I'm not in your possession!" I took a step back. "And you can't order me!"
"Oh, yes, I can!"
That took me aback. The man in front of me wasn't the Bill Guarnere who had spun me around at the Aid station. Whoever this was, he was angry and without a trace of mercy.
"The moment I turn around, you get yourself into goddamn trouble, Jessica!"
"Well, not always! I..."
"Don't ya see what's goin' on here?" He almost crushed me with his glare. "We're too busy keepin' each other alive here, and now he have to look after you, too! And that wouldn't be a goddamn problem, if you'd always stay put!"
"I'm NOT that helpless, Bill!", I shouted back, "I can defend myself quite well, if you really want to know!"
"Oh, yeah?"
"YES!"
"Well, can ya use a rifle? Can ya throw a grenade? Can ya stitch a man up without passin' out?" Not giving me any time to answer, he stuck his index finger into my chest. "Let me tell ya – you don't know a damn thing. You're a fuckin' weakness of this company, and we all have to risk our behinds for ya!"
My heart stopped for a moment.
I blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what he just said. Did that really come out of his mouth?
"What did you say?", I whispered.
Although he didn't say anything, the look on his face was more than clear.
"So, you say that I'm a weakness?" I stared at him, feeling my heart thumping again. "That I'm useless? Well, Bill, this weakness..." I pointed at myself with my thumb. "...risked her life to save you from a bloody ambush! I could have just saved my backside and went straight to the HQ! But, I thought it would be a better idea that you get out of there alive!"
"But, could ya actually do that without Doc? Without Liebgott's or Tipper's help? You'd be dead 'n' buried if it wasn't for them!"
In the meantime, a few men gathered around us. They stared at us, not believing what was just happening. However, I didn't give a damn for them. I grabbed Bill's arm and pushed it off me.
"Actually, you're right!", I shouted, "I'm not a soldier, nor a medic! But, does that mean that I'm less competent than you? I have skills that you don't, but that doesn't matter, does it? I'll always be a liability, because I'm the scared little lass who had the misfortune to be stuck with you!"
"I didn't say that!"
"But, you mean that! You ALL mean that!"
"Jess..."
"Don't you 'Jess' me, William!"
He grasped my arm, wrapping his fingers around it. "But..."
"GET OFF!"
I yanked my arm out of his grasp. Before he managed to say anything, I turned on my heel and stormed out of the street. Nobody dared to stop me now. The lads just moved out of my way, without saying a word.
Kicking pieces of rubble under my feet, I walked through the dusty town. I had never felt so furious before. I wanted to cry so badly, but I simply couldn't. I was too bitter about everything. With a loud sigh, I kicked an empty flowerpot, which rolled over the pavement. And then I plonked myself on the edge of a small garden. There was nobody there – just me and a small tree nearby.
Breathing heavily, I clenched my fists hard. I had thought that Bill was my friend, that he truly understood me. However, I was wrong – he wasn't different from the others.
As I was trying to calm myself down, something cracked behind me. It sounded as if somebody's boot crushed a piece of rubble.
That made the tears well up in my eyes again. How did he dare to follow me?
"Bloody hell, LEAVE ME ALONE, William!"
I turned around, ready to smack his irritating face. However, I didn't see him.
I saw a Luger, aiming right between my eyes.
To be continued...