Chapter 31
Richard POV
A stampede of feet bounding up the stairs to the attic which had been designated as his office pulled his attention away from the mountain of paperwork in front of him.
Despite what Sink had promised, his recent promotion seemed more likely to lead to a serious injury via papercut than a German bullet.
"Captain Winters is busy. He asked not to be disturbed," he heard his assistant, Zielinski, try to protest, but it was no use, the stampede continued unabated.
He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, pen held between his lips, and waited. Before long Nixon's dark hair appeared over the lip of the stairs, followed by Alex and Jessica.
As he had come to expect his heart leapt and lips turned up into a smile when he saw her.
"Can I help you three?" he asked, placing the pen on the table, folding his hands in his lap.
"We came to give you a reprieve from this," Jessica gestured to the pile of paper on his desk, "losing battle."
He smirked and grunted a laugh. "How kind of you."
Smiling, she walked over to his desk and upon reaching it she touched the mug which Zielinski had placed there a moment before they had barged in on him. He watched with delight as her smile broadened, finding the mug warm, the dark brown liquid still letting off a little steam.
"Would you like some coffee?" he asked, bemused.
Lifting the mug to her lips she sang. "My hero!"
He could only shake his head, unable to hide his smile.
"Hey," Nixon, who had taken up residence on the small brown couch that was tucked against one wall, exclaimed. "What about us?"
He waved his hands over his table. "Do you see another cup?"
"So, because she got there first, she gets the coffee?" his friend asked, a 'know-it-all' glint in his eyes.
"Because she's Jessica, she gets the coffee," he answered before he could stop himself. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the blush start to creep up his neck, fueled by the two men chuckling. But the smile Jessica rewarded him with, her lips curled around his mug, made it worth it.
Deciding it was best to change the topic of conversation to safer territory he asked, "So besides for saving me from the mountain of paperwork, is there anything I can help you with?"
Nixon pulled a flask from inside his jacket with a cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes but nodded his head in the direction of his footlocker. Ever since they'd deployed to England Nixon had taken to hiding his stash of Vat 69 in his footlocker.
Nixon winked and walked over to the locker as Jessica answered. "Yeah, you could use your powers of persuasion to get Alex to go to bed and rest."
Turning his full attention to Alex, he only now noticed how pale and clammy he looked, eyes rimmed red and nose running. "You're sick."
"I'm aware. Thanks."
He arched an eyebrow at the terse reply and glanced at Nixon who just shrugged.
"Don't mind him," Jessica answered his unspoken question, "he's cranky because I won the coin toss to take his place on the mission tonight."
At the news he felt his stomach clench and his hands involuntary balled into fists on the table.
"You cheated," Alex grumbled.
"It's a coin toss Alex. How did I cheat, h'm? Besides, the way you're coughing and sneezing you'll give your position away."
He unclenched his fists, pressing his hands into the smooth wooden surface of his desk. He didn't like the feeling of unease that seemed to be growing in the pit of his stomach with each passing moment. He hoped his face was appropriately neutral, because his insides were anything but.
"What's the assignment?" he asked, and although his voice sounded under control to his ears, he didn't miss the frown Nixon shot him.
"Parker and I will swim across the river and hook up with some Dutch Resistance members to swap intelligence. We're still trying to pinpoint the location of the missing British forces," Jessica answered.
He studied her but couldn't find any signs of doubt betraying her casual tone. Looking over to Alex he found a deep scowl etched into his forehead, lips pursed into a tight line.
It's nothing. He's just sick and they all hate being the one to stay behind.
Nixon was sitting back, slightly narrowed eyes flicking between Jessica and himself as he studied them.
Instead of shifting uncomfortably in his chair he got up, walked to the front of his desk and leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest.
Jessica seemed oblivious to the tension in the room, too consumed with the hot coffee in her hands to pay much attention to the three of them.
"You sure about the intelligence on this one?" he asked all three of them.
Alex coughed, a wet ragged sound that made everyone look his way and grimace. Jessica shot Alex a look which really said it all, and he simply ignored her. He was in no shape to go on this mission, despite how much he wanted to. And Richard would have preferred he be the one to go.
Nixon leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "As sure as we can be."
He pursed his lips and nodded.
A hand gently placed on his arm pulled his attention away from Nixon to Jessica. Her delicate features were soft, and even though the blue of her eyes remained dulled by exhaustion they were steady and calm. "It'll be fine. We've made the swim before and the part of the German line we're entering has been quiet for days."
Through sheer force of will he resisted the urge to take her hand in his and pull her into an embrace. So instead, he gave one sharp nod and watched as her hand dropped from his arm and he swore he spotted a twinge of sadness pull at her mouth.
Jessica averted her gaze, glancing at her wristwatch before returning his, now empty, cup to his desk. She turned and made for the top of the stairs. Reaching them she grabbed Alex's shoulder, and he smiled weakly at her.
"I'll see you all in the morning. Don't wait up."
All three of them chuckled, but to his ears, it sounded unconvincing at best and dishonest at worst.
He had a bad feeling about this.
Jessica POV
She was grateful the night was windless and dark. She could already feel a chill seeping into her bones from her wet clothing, but at least the overcast sky would provide them with some additional cover.
She and Parker had swum across the relatively calm stretch of water which separated their line from the German's. Sprinting the short distance from the water to the tree line they were now crouched low, ears straining to pick up anything which would alert them to the enemy's presence.
Minutes passed and when they were met with nothing more than the usual sounds of the night and water gently lapping up the shore she said, "Get ready to move."
From the corner of her eye, she saw Parker swing his small watertight bag from his shoulder as she did the same. The small bag contained a handgun, one extra clip and a pair of civilian shoes, their military issue boots were too cumbersome to quickly take off and put back on in the dark.
With her gun in her hand, she finally felt less exposed and a small part of her relaxed. With a quick glance to make sure Parker was ready, and finding him looking at her expectantly, she gave a nod, and they started to carefully creep forward.
She led the way with Parker following close behind in her exact footsteps. It was slow work, each footfall painstakingly placed to avoid the loud snap of a twig, pausing every few feet to listen for anything that would alert them to danger.
They were set to meet two Dutch Resistance members a hundred and fifty yards or so into the tree line, but at the pace they were going it was going to take them a considerable amount of time to get there, never mind back again and across the river under the cover of darkness.
She knew they were getting close to the rendezvous point and she had to intentionally slow their pace down to avoid rushing and making a mistake. She was anxious to get this entire affair over and done with as quickly as possible. Despite the brave face she had tried to put on for the three men in Richard's office, she had felt uneasy about the mission from the start. This wasn't their first venture into German lines, on paper it was set to be one of the easier ones, but something about it made her skin crawl.
What's that?
Her hand shot up and as one they dropped into a crouch and paused, fingers on the triggers of their guns.
She strained her ears, trying to catch another hint of the strange sound she'd heard a moment ago, but was only met with deathly silence and the sound of their breathing.
It's too quiet!
Her inner voice screamed, but still she was unwilling to move. She had to be sure she wasn't imagining it.
"Ugh…..,"there it was again. A muffled, pained groan.
Fuck.
Without looking away from the dark trees before her she signaled for Parker to retreat. They moved backwards slowly, eyes and ears straining, the blood rushing in her ears making it hard to hear.
Parker suddenly stopped. She froze, senses straining. She felt him tense at her back.
The silence continued to suffocate them. They were being hunted and they both knew it.
Snap.
Her head shot to the left; her breathing froze. Her nerves screamed as her muscles begged to move.
Leaves rustled to their right. Another snap.
"They're behind us," Parker whispered so softly even she could barely hear the words, and their bodies were pressed together.
She gave a sharp nod. "Run."
They bolted, caution and stealth giving way to urgency.
For a second the woods around them remained quiet and doubt crept in, but then the distinctive clap of a rifle shattered the night, and all hell broke loose around them.
The woods were suddenly filled with the sounds of men crashing through undergrowth as bullets smacked into the trees around them sending splinters flying.
Branches ripped at her face and roots threatened to catch her feet. She lost one shoe then another, but the only thing that mattered was the iron grip she had on her gun and moving forward. Parker was a few feet ahead of her when he suddenly went down.
She could hear their hunters closing in on them from all sides, but she knew the shore was close. They just had to get in the water then they stood a chance.
Parker scrambled to his feet, and they cleared the last of the tree line at the same moment.
Whatever relief she felt was destroyed when the ground at their feet erupted as bullets bit into it.
Her lungs were screaming, her heart hammering so hard she swore it was going to break through her ribs.
"Aaahhh!" Parker's scream shot through her.
Skidding to halt her feet gave way under her and she smacked into the earth. "Parker!"
She turned back to him and saw ten men break the tree line and cautiously approach them.
"Go!" Parker screamed.
"No!"
"Go! I won't make it!"
She hesitated, hysteria forcing its way into her throat, nearly choking her.
Parker fired at the men approaching them. This forced them to pause, and it forced her to look away from them to her friend.
"Give me your gun and go!" he begged, eyes pleading and terrified.
She tossed her gun, scrambled up and stumbled to the water, stones cutting her feet as ricochets bit into her flesh. The freezing current stole whatever breath she had left away, and her lungs screamed but she kept pushing onwards.
When she was up to her neck, she looked back in time to see Parker place a gun, her gun, to his head and pull the trigger. That single shot reverberated through her soul, shattering her.
Move!
A small voice screamed in her head and her muscles listened to its order.
She swam for the far bank. As her feet bit into the rocky bottom, she stumbled and dragged herself out. Bullets continued to hit close to her, but it was a dark night, and her instincts kept her moving. She hit the embankment that climbed from the riverside up to a small dirt path and down into a valley on the other side.
She scrambled up the embankment on her hands and feet. Hysteria was running rampant through her body. She could feel the enemy close behind her. Every time she slipped, she imagined a strong hand wrapping around her ankle, yanking her back. Reaching the top, her brain registered that the only sounds she could hear were her ragged sobs raking her body, nearly forcing her to her knees.
For the first time she dared to look behind her. No one was close. The German's had taken out torches and were searching Parker. She stood there, pressed into the muddy grass, watching as they stripped him and discarded his body like he was nothing more than an unwanted toy they were done playing with.
When they had gone, their torch lights disappearing back into the darkness from where they had come, she finished the climb to the road. Her muscles were weak and exhausted so when she started the descent on the other side she lost her footing. Tumbling down the grassy embankment she felt a jar to her right side which took the wind from her lungs and shot pain into her brain.
She hit the bottom hard, her head instantly throbbing. She curled in on herself and lay on the open ground, knowing she should move but unable to make her muscles do anything.
Her head throbbed, something warm was running down her face, stinging her eyes. Her breathing was ragged and painful, and her body was shaking so violently from the cold and adrenaline she could hear her teeth rattle.
He died for you. Get the fuck up now!
"Ugh!" she groaned, pushing herself onto her hands and knees.
Taking a few deep breaths, she braced herself to stand, knowing it was going to hurt.
One, two, three.
"Fuck."
As soon as she stood the earth titled. In an instant she was back on her knees, vomit burning up her throat and running down her chin.
Panting she waited for the episode to end, putting all her focus on the feeling of her hands pressing onto the cold, hard earth.
Once her stomach stopped heaving, she counted to ten, telling herself she had to get up.
Okay. I can do this.
She stood slowly, carefully. The nausea still hit but this time she was prepared, and it was less overwhelming than before.
Her eyes stung and she aggressively wiped at her face, pulling a hiss from her lips.
With a deliberate breath, she started to move in the direction of the 2nd Battalion CP. The going was painfully slow. Her legs were unsteady and every so often the world seemed to tilt making her stomach recoil and feet stumble.
Joe POV
"You hear that?" Luz whispered next to him.
He was out on patrol with Luz and Malarkey. They'd been at it for a good few hours and were finally on their back to the Easy CP.
Except for hearing some distant gunfire coming from the German side of the line the patrol had been uneventful.
At first, he couldn't find what had caught Luz's attention, but then just as he was about to answer Luz the sound of feet shuffling on the dirt road caught his attention.
The three men shared a look. They fanned out and moved forward cautiously, rifles half-raised.
As they got close to a small bend in the road there was the sound of someone staggering followed by a low groan of pain.
He looked to Malarkey who mouthed, "What the hell?"
He shook his head, feeling his muscles tense as they rounded the bend. Someone was on their hands and knees in the road a few feet from them. He heard the person retch and cough.
"Who goes there?!" he asked, his rifle now trained on the prone figure.
The figure didn't move but they were now close enough that he could see their chest heaving.
"Who goes there?" he repeated, but by the time the last word had left his mouth he no longer needed an answer.
"Shit! Captain King!" Malarkey was the first to react. He shouldered his rifle and ran the last few feet to fall to his knees by her side.
Joe reached her a moment later. She was still on her hands and knees, head dropped, he couldn't see the tears but he heard her muffled cries.
"Captain," he ventured, placing a gentle hand on her back.
Slowly her head turned so he could see her face. He had to swallow down hard to keep his emotions in check. Half her face was covered in blood and the other half was a sickening white.
"Fuck."
She blinked and it was as if she only now realized they were with her, her eyes focusing on his.
"Parker…" she started to say but an ugly cough cut her off, nearly forcing her to the ground as she dropped onto her elbows.
Looking over her head he found Malarkey and Luz staring at her, their faces mirroring what he felt. Confusion and worry.
"Luz," he started, "get back to CP. Get Marsh and Winters. And Doc Roe."
Luz nodded and ran off into the night, his hard footfalls reverberating back to them.
"Malark, I'm gonna move her against the embankment. You stand watch."
"Got it."
He dropped his head, so his face was close to hers. "Jessica," he spoke gently.
"H'm," came her reply.
"We gotta move out of the road."
She gave a weak nod, and he could feel her try to crawl towards the foot of the embankment.
"I got ya." Swinging one of her arms over his shoulder, his other going around her waist, he helped to lift her to her feet.
A long groan escaped from behind her gritted teeth, and he felt a small fist grip his jacket.
"Jesus, she's freezing."
"Here," Malarkey's jacket appeared in front of him as soon as he had eased her down onto the grassy embankment.
He took it and draped it over her small frame. She was shivering so badly he was sure she could break something. Taking off his own jacket he draped it over her legs as he said, "Ma'am, I'm going to hold you. We need to get you warmed up."
He thought she nodded but couldn't be sure.
Wrapping his arms around her he tightened his grip until she hissed. The sky was slowly starting to lighten as morning approached. Looking down at her he had to cough to clear the ball that had settled in his throat.
She looked and felt like death warmed up. Looking up he and Malarkey shared a look and all he could think of doing was holding her a little tighter.
Richard POV
He couldn't sleep. No matter what he tried his mind refused to shut off and his body itched to move.
"Ugh!" exasperated he sat up, swinging his long legs over the side of the bed. In frustration, he roughly ran a hand over his face and through his hair.
He closed his eyes and dropped his head, taking deep breaths to try and relax his tensed muscles. He was on edge, ready to fight, and he knew why. Jessica. More specifically, Jessica not being near him, but rather in enemy territory.
When his mind registered his hands clenched into two tight fists, he sighed and gave up trying to relax. He was awake, he may as well be productive.
He got up and walked over to the oil lamp he'd been given to light the small room he was billeted in. One of the perks of becoming the XO for 2nd Battalion was that he had a small bedroom to himself in the larger home the Battalion's senior staff had taken up residence in.
After a few hours of reading, editing and signing paperwork he put down his pen with an audible sigh. He pressed his palms into his eyes to try and alleviate the burning sensation that had settled behind them.
He checked his watch and groaned when he caught sight of the time. 04:00. No use in trying to go to bed now. He settled back into the hard chair, rested his arms on the table and dropped his head onto them, hoping for an hour's rest before he had to officially start his day.
"Captain Winters!"
He awoke with a start to someone shouting his name and banging on his door.
Pushing up he cursed himself for trying to sleep in the chair, everything hurt.
"Captain Winters!"
Yanking the door open with a lot more force than was required, he scowled. "What!?"
Luz was waiting for him. He was a little breathless and his face was flushed. He had a nervous energy about him which made Richard feel even more uneasy than he already was.
"Captain King's been, well sir, I'm not really sure what –,"
"Where is she?"
"Out on our line, near the river. Joe and Malark are with her."
"Why isn't she back here?"
"She…well sir, she didn't really seem able to move."
The death grip he held on the door handle tightened to the point of becoming painful and he heard his teeth grind against one another.
"I'll get my things," he managed to grit out. "Captain Marsh?"
"We already got him. And Doc Roe."
At the mention of their medic, the step he'd taken into his room to grab his helmet and gun faltered. He closed his eyes and bit the inside of his cheeks as he took a deep breath to steady himself. His body and emotions once again under his control, he finished what he started and a moment later he slammed his door shut behind him, following Luz down the stairs and out of the building.
A jeep was idling nearby, Alex and Doc Roe already waiting on them. Even in the poor light he could see Alex looked terrible, but whether it was from his illness or stress over what they were heading towards he couldn't tell.
"I'm driving. Luz, you tell me where to go."
Luz looked like he was going to object but whatever he saw when he looked at him made the other man change his mind.
They sped out of the courtyard. His knuckles were white around the steering wheel. The cold air whipping across his face felt like a welcome relief from the blood that was boiling beneath its surface.
"Captain," he heard Doc Roe's steady voice close to his ear, "we need to get there alive."
He glanced in the rearview mirror to find the medic's dark eyes staring intently at him, a frown drawing his eyebrows together into a deep V.
He slowed down a fraction and glanced back in the mirror to see Roe sitting back in his seat, head now turned to watch the land that was racing by.
Five minutes later, with the sun just rising above the horizon, the headlights fell on a soldier standing on the side of the road.
The man stepped forward and held his rifle above his head.
He slowed, eyes frantically searching the area for Jessica, when he found two more people sitting in the shadows of the dyke, the one holding the other.
The jeep had barely come to a stop when his feet hit the ground. He spared Malarkey a brief glance, but his attention was singularly focused on Jessica and closing the distance to her.
Dropping onto his haunches in front of her he swallowed to move the lump in his throat.
Her face was covered in blood. The two jackets draped over her nearly swallowing her small frame, making her look fragile. He could see she was shivering, shaking really, and her lips were pursed with a blue tinge. Her blue eyes were staring off into the middle distance and even when he was face-to-face with her, she didn't focus on him.
Alex sat down on her other side and Richard could see his Adam's apple bop up and down as he swallowed hard.
"Thanks Liebgott. I got this," Alex said. Liebgott slowly removed his arms from around her, and in that moment Richard felt an intense pang of jealousy towards the other soldier.
"Jess," Alex gently called to her as he pulled her against him.
She didn't seem to register the change, or that he had called her name.
Richard took his helmet off, placing it to one side. In the back of his mind, he knew what he was about to do was risky considering other people were present but touching her was all he could think of.
He cupped her face in his hands, leaned forward and whispered. "Jessica. I need you to look at me. Please."
Time slowed, his heart raced, and he held his breath.
She blinked. One slow blink at first. Then a dozen more as her eyes focused onto him.
"Richard?" she whispered.
Relief washed over him. "I'm here. You're safe."
She looked around her, frowning as if she wasn't sure how she had gotten to be here, sitting on the ground, surrounded by soldiers, six anxious faces looking at her.
"Jessica," Alex spoke.
He dropped his hands from her face and clasped them together to restrain himself from pulling her away from Alex and holding her against himself.
Even though she turned her face to look at Alex, one of her hands reached for him and he took a hold of it, flinching at how ice cold she was.
"Are you hurt?" Alex asked.
"Ummm…my head hurts. Breathing too."
Alex loosened his grip on her.
"Could be more. Maybe."
"H'm, and your feet, can you walk?"
Jessica frowned and looked down to her bare, dirty and bloody feet. "Parker's dead."
He shared a pained look with Alex over her head.
Alex returned his attention to her. "We'll talk about that later. I first need Doc to check you out, okay?"
She gave a weak nod but when he tried to move so their medic could get close Jessica's grip on his hand strengthened and her eyes shot over to his. His breath caught and heart faltered when he caught sight of the panic which lingered there just beneath the surface.
"Doc, can you sit on her other side?" he asked, but as neither he nor Alex were moving it was more of an instruction.
"Sure thing," the medic answered.
"Captain King, can you look at the light for me?" Roe asked, and Jessica complied, blinking into the small light he was shining into her eyes.
"Liebgott, hold the light for me," Roe instructed.
Using both of his hands he prodded her forehead until she hissed. He nodded and hummed to himself.
"Well?" Richard asked, his anxiety eating away at him with each passing second.
Their medic only briefly glanced over at him before returning his attention to Jessica. Roe took her free hand in his and turned it so he could feel her pulse. The medic pursed his lips and his ever-present frown deepened even further.
Richard had to bite the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood to stop himself from shouting at the medic to tell them she was going to be okay.
"Are you dizzy, weak?"
"Ummm….yes."
Roe quirked his head to one side, studying her. "Liebgott?"
"When we found her, she was on her knees, throwing up."
"H'm."
"Well Doc?" Alex was the first to break, the way he asked the question almost sounded like an order.
Roe sat back on his haunches. "She's got a concussion and she's showing early signs of either shock or hypothermia. Maybe both. I can't tell anything more until we get her back and do a full exam."
Alex was about to say something when he continued. "We should get her back now. She needs to get out of these wet clothes and warm before she loses more body heat."
He gave them both a pointed look. Now was not the time to find out what had happened. That could happen later when she was warm. And safe.
Alex only replied with a curt nod. "Jessica, can you stand?"
She looked like she was seriously considering Alex's question, but Richard didn't give her a chance to decide. "I'll carry her. She can sit in the back between Doc and you."
He hooked one arm underneath her legs and the other behind her back before she could think of protesting. Lifting her he tried to be gentle, but as she pressed her face into his chest he heard her groan and felt one hand grip his jacket.
It was as if holding her in his arms shifted something inside of him and all of a sudden he could feel worry give way to anger, the kind that formed a red hot ball in the pit of your stomach.
Alex was already in the jeep, arms extended to take her. He hesitated to give her away. His every fiber fighting to keep her close even when he knew this had been his idea.
Idiot.
He dropped his head, so his lips were pressed into the top of her head. "You're safe now. You're safe."
She nodded but when he moved her into Alex's arms the smallest of whimpers escaped from her lips simultaneously breaking his heart and fueling his anger.
Alex tucked her in tight against his side and Doc Roe hopped in, sitting flush against her.
"Here." He handed the medic his jacket.
Roe took it and draped it over Jessica's small frame. He couldn't help the small sense of satisfaction that crept into his chest when he watched her snuggle into his jacket, pressing the fabric to her nose and closing her eyes.
"You three," he turned to his men, "hop in or hold on. You're coming back with us."
The three men clambered in, Luz once again taking the passenger seat while the other two stood on the side of the jeep and held onto the frame.
The return journey took longer but soon enough they stopped outside the small townhall that had been converted into the Battalion's aid station. It was still early, so even though some people were about, the area still clung onto that sense of calm before the day's chaos unfolded.
"Malarkey. Luz," he called to the men.
"Sir?"
"Find Captain King's other men and tell them to come here. Captain Marsh will have to come with me to Battalion CP and I don't want King left unguarded for a moment. Understood?"
"Yes sir," they responded before running off in the direction of Easy's billet.
"Sir," Joe said, "I'll go with Doc Roe until her guys arrive."
He knew Joe was close to Arlene, he suspected they were romantically involved but he never asked Jessica about it because it didn't want to put her in a position where she would have to choose between lying to him or betraying her friend's confidence.
He gave one firm nod. "Fine."
He turned his attention back to Jessica to find Doc Roe carefully taking her from Alex's embrace. Her eyes were closed, but he was certain she was awake by the way she was still clutching onto his jacket, taking it with her.
Once Jessica was safely in Doc Roe's arms Alex climbed out of the jeep and said, "Once she's ready bring her to Battalion. Send someone ahead to find me or Winters so we know she's on her way. If she needs to stay at the aid station, we'll come here."
Liebgott and Roe nodded. "Sir."
They stood there until the three of them were swallowed up by the dark interior of the aid station. Only then did he drop his head and take a deep, shuddering breath to try and steady himself. Right now he didn't trust the tenuous handle he had on himself.
"Well, I guess we know the answer now," Alex said, forcing him to look up.
"What?"
Alex lit a cigarette and as he flipped the lighter shut, he answered. "The intelligence was shit. Fucken hell."
His lips twisted into a scowl. "We need to find Nixon." With that he turned sharply and walked the short distance to the Battalion CP, Alex close on his heels.
As they entered the building two orderlies blocked his path, standing in the middle of the doorway speaking. He had to clench his fists and shove them into his pockets to stop himself from physically assaulting both.
When they finally noticed him, their eyes widened, and they nearly tripped over themselves to get out of his way.
"Where's Captain Nixon?" he barked.
As if on cue Nixon appeared a few feet behind them in the hallway that led from the entrance of the building to the main living area on the one side and a set of smaller rooms on the other. The main living area was their command center, the walls dominated by maps of the area and troop placement, both theirs and the Germans'. The smaller rooms were used for either storage or private meetings.
"Look who's up early. Already making the rest of us look bad, huh?" Nixon joked but the closer he and Alex got to him the more his friend's smile faltered.
"Shit, what happened?"
Alex pulled them into one of the smaller rooms which was luckily empty this early in the morning.
"Right, so is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?"
He spun on his friend, getting right in his face. "What's going on is the intelligence was wrong! We don't know what happened because Jessica is in too much bloody shock to tell us!"
Nixon took a step back and closed the door. "Dick, you have to calm down."
"What?!"
Nixon's eyes flicked to Alex, looking for help, but he obviously didn't find any because they quickly shot back to him. Holding up his hands he said, "Dick, this isn't like you. You need to calm down. You can't help Jessica if you're like this."
"I know I can't help her!" His body reacted before his mind knew what was happening. His fist collided with the doorframe, shooting pain up his arm and into his brain, snapping him out of the red-hot storm he had found himself in.
A silence filled the room, the air so thick it was almost choking him. He rested his head against the wall and took deep, ragged breaths.
He felt Nixon's strong hand on his shoulder. "Where's Jessica and Parker?"
He couldn't reply, he wasn't sure he would be able to form a coherent sentence, his entire body was still vibrating.
"Jessica's at the aid station. We have people with her. Parker's dead," Alex answered and Richard could hear the utter misery in the other man's voice.
This forced him to turn around and face the room. He felt terrible, but he knew Alex would be in a bad state as well. Maybe worse.
No, no one can feel worse than this.
"That's all we know?"
For a moment he seriously considered snatching Nixon's lit cigarette from his hand and taking a long drag. Shaking the thought from his head he answered. "For now. That's all Jessica could get out."
Nixon nodded; his face etched with worry.
"Once she's finished at the aid station she'll come here and we'll debrief her," Alex said.
"H'm, how bad is she?"
Richard and Alex shared a meaningful look and in the end the best they could come up with was a shrug and a grunt.
Jessica POV
It was midday by the time she found herself at 2nd Battalion's CP, tucked away in a small room on the ground floor. She was sitting on top of an old wooden table, her legs crossed in front of her. There was a worn green couch in the one corner that looked far more comfortable, but all the men were standing, and she would be dammed if she was going to sit on the couch and look up at them. Nope, she'd rather look unprofessional and be uncomfortable. Besides, by this point her level of discomfort was damn high anyway.
Her entire body ached, and despite the warm shower, dry clothes and second cup of hot coffee she was cradling in her lap, shivers still played havoc with her body. The drone of voices coming from the other side of the closed door seemed to feed the headache which had taken up permanent residence behind her eyes. And judging by the looks Alex, John and Nixon kept shooting her she looked about as terrible as she felt. At least they had stopped asking her if she was okay after the tenth time she simply answered with a flat 'fine'.
"They should be here soon," Nixon said, nervously glancing at the door.
She nodded, they had been waiting for a good fifteen minutes already for Ricard and Sink. Bringing the mug to her lips she closed her eyes to savor the heat burning down her throat.
Alex, who was leaning against the table to her right, held out a cigarette to her. "You sure you don't want one?"
She shook her head. She did want one but couldn't imagine letting go of the warm metal mug clutched in her lap. She also didn't want them to see how much her hands were trembling.
Alex sighed and she caught the look of guilt and worry pulling at his features.
The door opened and Sink stepped through, followed by a young orderly she didn't recognize and Richard. At the sight of him she could feel her nerves smooth over and for a moment the pounding in her head eased. It was amazing the effect his mere presence had on her. Even just having his large jacket draped over her brought her some small feeling of comfort.
She made to stand to salute Sink, trying to figure out how she could manage this without having to put the mug down or falling on her face, but the Colonel stopped her with wave of his hand. "As you are Captain."
She gave him a grateful smile and the small gesture eased the deep etched frown between his eyes.
"Right," Sink continued, "I brought my orderly here to take notes, so you only have to go over it once. He'll type up the report and you can sign it."
She was about to object to the special treatment when Alex nudged her to stay quiet.
Take the win, she could hear him say.
The young orderly gave her an awkward look, he wanted to use the table to write but he could see she had no intention of moving.
"Here," Nixon saved the young man by pulling two wooden chairs close together, facing on another.
The guy nodded, took a seat on one and used the other as a table. He looked uncomfortable, but hopefully they weren't going to be stuck here for too long.
The man now seated, everyone turned their attention back to her. She swallowed involuntarily, instantly regretting it when a harsh cough scratched up her throat before exploding from her mouth.
Alex rubbed her back, but her eyes searched for Richard's. He was standing against the wall directly opposite her, hands shoved into his pockets, his entire body a solid tense mass. His eyes didn't waver from hers, and even though she thought they held a lot of anger there was something else which gave her the reassurance she needed.
"When you're ready." Sink speaking pulled her gaze away from Richard's.
With a deep shuddering breath, she settled her gaze on the back wall. "The swim across the river went as planned. We nearly made it to the rendezvous point when something, a sound, made us stop. Made me stop."
"You were in the lead?" Sink asked.
She nodded.
"What did you hear that made you stop?"
She closed her eyes, trying to put herself back into the dark forest, crouched low, heart hammering in her chest as the silence descended.
She shook her head as she opened her eyes, looking at Sink. "I'm not sure. A groan maybe? But the silence was deafening. Something was wrong. We waited and were about to move on when I definitely heard someone moan, they sounded in pain."
To buy herself a break she took a drink of her coffee, grateful the tremors in her hands were lessening.
"We started to retreat, slowly at first, but then Parker heard someone behind us. We were being corralled. I gave the order to run. We had to get back to the water and over the river."
She paused, waiting for the orderly's frantic scratching to stop. No one said anything, she wasn't even sure if they were breathing anymore.
When no more sound came from the orderly and she caught him looking up expectantly she continued. "We were being chased; they were firing at us, but we didn't stop to return fire. We made it to the shoreline when Parker went down. He must have been hit, but I don't know where."
Alex's large hand covered the mug and only then did she realize her hands had started to shake so badly the coffee was almost spilling over.
She took a deep breath, putting all her attention into relaxing her muscles and pushing down the nausea that was suddenly twisting her stomach. Richard pushed himself off the wall and she thought, hoped, he was going to come to her, but he stopped, his jaw set into a solid line, lips pursed together.
She exhaled and blinked, grateful that the small disappointment momentarily helped her body move past the panic that had threatened to derail her a moment earlier.
"About ten enemy soldiers approached us from the tree line. Parker opened fire. I wanted to help him, but…."
"You were outnumbered…." Alex finished. His voice barely above a whisper.
She cleared her throat. "He asked for my gun and told me to run. I did. When I was a reasonable distance into the river I turned. The enemy was nearly on him. He shot himself. His head….he shot himself."
"Fuck," Alex mumbled, his knuckles had turned white where he was still holding her mug.
"Once I was on the other side of the water and up the embankment the enemy fire stopped. From what I could tell they were stripping him."
"How were you able to see this from your position?" Sink asked.
"They used torches, they were being thorough, so they used quite a lot of light."
"H'm."
"I crossed the road and must have lost my footing coming down the other side because I hit my head," she pointed to the large white plaster that covered the six stitches in her hairline, "and bruised some ribs on my right side. Other minor injuries were from the fall or running, walking, barefoot. Nothing too bad really."
Nixon gave a dark chuckle, the sound loud in the silent room. "Don't forget the hypothermia."
She smirked and held up one hand so they could see the tremble. "How could I. My bones are still cold."
Her friend smirked and she felt Alex shake his head at her side. The small moment of levity seemed to relax everyone a little and go some way to addressing whatever concern they had about her mental state. Well, everyone except Richard. Nothing about him had shifted, including the blue eyes staring intently at her.
"Did you recognize anyone?" Nixon asked.
"From the attack?"
"Yeah."
She shook her head. "No. Do we know anything yet?"
This time Sink offered her a cigarette, which she declined, before he lit it for himself. "From what we've heard the Dutch Resistance had a mole reporting to the Germans. They were tipped off about the meeting. It was a trap to capture or kill you two. Preferably capture."
"Sounds about right."
"There's one more thing." The way Alex said those words made her want to be sick again.
I really need to get a handle on my stomach.
"Unconfirmed reports have the German officer in charge as M. Schmidt."
She turned to stare at him, brain taking agonizingly long to process what he'd said. When it finally caught up, she hissed, "I should have killed the bastard when I had the chance."
"The name's familiar?" Sink asked, his keen eyes flicking from her to Alex then John before settling back on her.
"During our time working with the SOE in Holland our paths crossed," was all the answer she was willing to give.
She waited for him to push her for more details, but he remained silent, studying her. She resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably under his scrutiny.
"Very well. I think we have everything we need?" Sink looked over to his orderly who nodded.
"Good. I'll have it sent to you to read and sign once it's ready."
He was turning away from her when she asked, "Sir?"
He paused and looked at her. "Yes?"
"Parker's body, umm…"
A deep sadness clouded the older man's face. "I'm sorry Captain. After what happened, we can't risk sending anyone over for some time."
She nodded but dropped her eyes in time to hide the tears that silently rolled down her cheeks. She'd now failed and abandoned him twice.
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