by W. R. Benton
Eller moved to the young man as the medic gave him the powerful painkiller, and he held the dying man’s hand and spoke softly to him as he passed. The Major moved up a number of notches in my view because of his compassion. I'd changed over the years and while still cold at times, it was due to the nature of my work.
Minutes later the man shivered, gave a loud sigh, and fell limply. He remained standing because the limb was holding him up.
“We'll return for his body this afternoon. Thomas, you take point and Carol, you're on drag.” the Major ordered.
Once back in camp, the wounded were turned over to the medical folks and a security team was assigned to guard the Russian Colonel.
As I walked to my office, Eller asked, “I hated to lose Johns; he was an experienced explosives man and an all around good troop and man.”
“What makes it even worse is our side killed him. The Russians may plant mines and booby traps, but the resistance placed that one there. The Bear doesn't make homemade traps like that. All it takes is one second of being inattentive and you're a dead man. Or, he may have been tired, who knows why he didn't see the line, and it doesn't matter now.”
“I hear you and agree. I'll get intelligence on the Colonel as soon as he wakes. After they milk him for all they can get, what then?”
“Let's find out what we can about the man before we make any rash decisions. The bullet wounds are to his legs, so lets see what his prognosis is, too. If he's permanently disabled, once we learn all we can we'll release him, unless he's a war criminal. If he runs a gulag or is a known killer of Americans, well, he'll die. I'll personally put the noose around his neck.”
“I think that's understandable, sir. Now, I need see to my troops.” He snapped to attention and gave me a crisp salute, so I did the same.
As he walked away from me, I wondered, How many of us will still be alive a year from now?
Chapter 7
Captain Georgiy was tired, but Lena was totally exhausted when she came to his quarters. He'd been sleeping when her gentle knock woke him. He'd been very pleased to see her, pulled her into his room and kissed her madly. Later, after she'd had a glass of vodka and some cheese, he'd cleaned her breast with rubbing alcohol, and found it was just a little more than a scratch. Then, still topless, she'd fallen asleep with her head in his lap, and stretched out on the sofa. Minutes later, he joined her in sleep.
He had no idea when he awoke what time it was, but glancing at the clock it was 2200 hours, so he moved carefully and placed her head on a pillow. He showered and decided to serve supper. He'd had a pot of borscht with meat simmering all day and the smell reminded him of his deep hunger. He moved to the stove, lifted the lid and smiled at the red beet soup. He found the smell tantalizing and couldn't resist a quick sip of the broth. He smiled again. That's so good, he thought.
He prepared places for two, placed the pot of soup on the ceramic tile on the table, and pulled out a long loaf of uncut fresh bread. He then moved to Lena.
“My sweetheart, you need to eat. Wake up long enough to eat, and then you can go back to sleep.”
“I am tired, so let me sleep.”
He kissed her forehead and then her chin before he replied, “I have borscht with meat, so eat a little and then you may sleep more. I think you would be better to spend the night here.”
“Must I eat?”
“Yes, and that is an order, if that will get you to the table. Come on, eat with me, and then we will both go to bed if you wish. I promise to hold you close as you sleep.”
“Ummm, okay, I will eat then. I know I need food, but I am just beat. Even my scalp tingles from fatigue.”
“I have been that way many times. I know how you feel. Come.” He took her right hand and pulled her up.
Once on her feet, she pulled him to her, and kissed him deeply as his arms went around her. His hands squeezed her butt cheeks, which caused her to moan, and she said, “I may not have supper.”
“No, you will eat first. Then we will shower together and the rest of the night is ours. Come, please, and eat. You have worked well over twelve hours and you need the energy and vitamins from a good meal.” He tossed her one of his clean uniform tees.
They walked into the kitchen, hand in hand, and he pulled her chair out for her.
She sat, slipped the tee over her head and then took a quick spoonful of the soup and said, “Now, this is so good. You are a wonderful cook, Ilik, and will be a good prize for a lucky woman one day.”
He sat, shrugged and said, “I am no prize, just a normal man.”
“Oh, I disagree with you. You are ruggedly handsome, intelligent, brave, passionate and a great lover. Not to mention, you can cook too. What more could a woman need in a man?”
“My only skill is killing, and not much call for that in the civilian world.”
“You sir, are no killer, but a warrior. You can get a police or other related job after you retire. When they read you were decorated and promoted to Captain because of your bravery, you will get hired quickly. People with your training and background often work for the government in one capacity or another.”
“I am confused about you, Lena, and my feelings. I was scared you had been hurt or killed today and I do not know why. I just met you last night.”
“That is the compassionate side of you, do you not see?”
“No, this was more than compassion. It was not as if I had only lost a lover, but I was actually scared I had lost you, you, the woman you are. I find this hard to talk about because I am old enough to be your father. It is all moving too quickly too, which scares me.”
“Well, I am attracted to you too, and believe me, I do not think of you as my father.” She laughed, sobered, and said, “Let us finish this meal and jump in the shower. I cannot wait to help you wash. Let us let what will happen, happen, between us. I think we are both mature enough to take the risk of love, but right now, we can just enjoy each other’s bodies.”
She winked, and he shivered.
The following weeks passed quickly, with Lena spending most nights with Ilik unless she had night shift. She was a demanding lover who never pushed him away and often came to him. Their time together was enjoyed by both, and neither was aware they were in love. He often daydreamed of having her as a wife, and she dreamed of him being her perfect husband. Both knew the realities of their jobs, and either or both could be dead in a heartbeat. However, the concern of an early death was pushed to the very backs of their minds as their love grew stronger than their fears.
Finally, back at work, Ilik discovered they had him commanding a company of men and women, which he enjoyed. The troops respected him greatly for his enlisted time, his high enlisted rank, and the fact he'd been promoted for bravery. They knew their commander was no normal man, and they were proud to serve under him.
“Sergeant, I want all the troops assembled in fifteen minutes. I think it is time I meet them. I want everyone assigned and accounted for in formation. The exception will be any confined to quarters by the police or medical staff. Of those, I want to know their status.”
“Sir, fifteen minutes is not much time.”
“I disagree and you only have fourteen minutes now, so move!”
Fifteen minutes later, all but ten of the one hundred were in formation, standing at attention. Georgiy called the Sergeant forward and asked, “Where are the rest?”
“Sir, one is on medical confinement with a broken leg, one is in the guardhouse for being unruly, and the others just cannot be found.”
“I want the man in jail out today. At least I know for sure I have one fighter in this bunch. From now on, our folks arrested for fighting will be released as soon as we can arrange it. I want fighters, not a bunch of nuns, understood?”
“Uh, yes, sir.”
The Captain moved to the front center of his company and said, “I am Captain Ilik Georgiy and I am your new commander. You will find I demand a lot from you, but I will not ask anything of you t
hat I will not be able to do, or that I have not done myself in the past. I rose from the ranks and was promoted to Master Sergeant. Then, I was promoted to my current rank. Why I was promoted is not your business, but I know the lives you live. I have been in your shoes, so I know the little games and ways to avoid attention like some of you use. I only ask you to obey my orders, keep yourself looking sharp and clean, and do your jobs to the best of your ability.”
He slowly walked to the far left side of the formation, with the Sergeant at his side, and began moving down the ranks slowly. No one had expected an inspection, so some grew concerned.
As he moved, he spoke again, “This one needs her hair up higher, get it off the collar, or get it cut. This man needs a haircut, and this one looks like he slept in his uniform.”
Half way through his inspection, he said, “From now on, unless you have a written pass, the Senior Sergeant will know exactly where you are at all times. You will sign in and out of the orderly room. I do not care where you go or what you do, as long as we can find you in the event we go into the field. It does me little use to have a hundred men and women if I can only recall fifty of them. If any of you have any serious bitches or gripes take them to the Senior Sergeant initially, and if he can't help you, see if I will see you to discuss your problem.”
“Remember, I am not your mother or father, so I do not love you. I will, however, treat you like the adult soldiers you are. I may not love you like they do, but I will treat you with respect and dignity, and I expect the same from all of you. Look around you and take care of each other. Each man and woman standing here is your comrade.” He looked the last soldier over and added, “This last man looks overweight, so have the clinic measure his body fat and let us know.”
He walked to the front of the formation and yelled, “At ease, but remain in place. Starting tomorrow morning, we will be running every single day, rain, snow or shine. Our first run will be half a kilometer and it will slowly extend until we are running five kilometers a morning in our boots, and be sure to bring your backpacks and weapons. Our run will start at 0500 and not a minute later. Your only excuse to miss morning formation is you are dead, in the hospital, or in jail. Dismissed.”
Turning to his Senior Sergeant, Georgiy said, “In one hour I want a meeting with all squad leaders. There are going to be some changes around here, but they will be implemented slowly. I think we have some good looking troops, but they have turned lazy since they got here, and I do not want to lead them into combat as they are. I cry each time I have to write a soldier's mom and dad that they are dead. Our jobs are to train them, keep them in shape, and prepare them to be the best damned troops in the Russian Army and I will do that, with your help.”
Snapping to attention, the Senior Sergeant said, “Yes, sir.”
“Good, now let us cut the bullshit, Sergeant, and go have a few glasses of vodka as you tell me all about our people. I know who runs the Russian Army, and it is the Senior Sergeants and Master Sergeants, not the officers. You do a good job for me and I can assure you will make Master Sergeant when you leave here, if not before.”
“Yes, sir.”
In his quarters two evenings later he explained to Lena why he'd fired two squad leaders, due to lack of motivation, but she'd not really understood. One had shown up reeking of alcohol and another had presented a poor appearance. The one that smelled went to jail and the other to the barber shop. He'd fired both on the spot, demoted them and made the next two ranking persons squad leader. He'd put off his meeting with the formation until tomorrow after their run.
“Hospitals are not known for their compliance with grooming standards and our hair is longer and our mustaches wider than the field troops.” she said.
“I have to enforce all regulations, because it is my job. What most troops in the world need is discipline and respect.”
“Respect?”
“Respect from me and each other. By the time I am done with these folks, they will think they are the best trained sonsofbitches in the world. They will obey an order in combat without a second thought, and that will make a difference at times. I do not want my people to walk proud like the average soldier, but to strut like roosters. I want them proud of our unit, each other, me, and themselves. I really want them to be as good as they think they are —the best trained men and women in any army of the world.”
“I think you will be a bad ass commander then.” She laughed and then kissed his ear.
“I am personally responsible, baby, for how many go home sitting upright in that airplane and how many go home in an aluminum box. I take my responsibilities seriously.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close.
“I can see how you would want them well trained.”
“I had my first big problem come up today.”
“Oh? And, what was that?” she asked as she started unbuttoning his shirt.
“Young girl, eighteen years old, is suddenly pregnant. At first she claimed she had no idea how it happened, but finally she admitted it was by the Sergeant I had sent to jail for drinking. Both of them were depressed, which explained his drinking, and she had been trying to hide her belly. To make a very long story short, I have her leaving in the morning for Moscow.”
“Do they love each other?”
“She said no, but I could see the hurt in her eyes when she answered the question. I suspect she loves him, only he is using her as many men do. Well, their situation reminded me of us.”
“I am on the pill, so relax, and neither of us are using the other.”
“So was she, or so she claimed. She said the two of them have been drinking a great deal and she may have missed a day or more. She asked about him, and I said he would be facing disciplinary action for showing up to work intoxicated. I will not put him in prison, but I will do what it takes to scare the hell out of him. I placed the man in jail for fighting in charge of the drunk's squad. I know now at least three out of the four squads will fight.”
Lena stood, stepped over his legs and then sat in his lap. She leaned forward, kissed him deeply and wrapped her arms around his neck. When the kiss broke, she moved to his ear and whispered, “I love you.”
She was surprised to hear him reply, “I love you too, baby. Never change and no matter what the future holds, continue to love me as I will you.”
“I promise to love you no matter what.”
They would both discover that words so easily spoken can be hard to adhere to at times.
One month later, Georgiy was taking his troops into the field, and he wanted to break them in easy. They'd spend three nights and four days in the field. Along with him he'd have two tanks. They'd leave Fort Leonard Wood, walk down down old route 66, and then circle the area, more or less giving his people some field experience.
He was relaxed and didn't expect to run into any partisans, but if they did they'd engage them. When live ammo and grenades were passed out, his troops suddenly became quiet. Their previous commander hadn't taken them to the field often or in any way placed them, or him, in danger. The fort had used these troops as extra workers around the base. They'd augment the police, stand guard duty, pull kitchen police, or pull all the shit details. The other units loved having them on the Fort, because they were doing many of the details everyone hated. They'd started calling them 'KP' Company, because they were usually found in the kitchen, helping the cooks and bakers.
Captain Georgiy was about to change all of that, along with the company’s reputation.
The second they walked out the gate, the Captain yelled, “Pugin, you are on point and Senya, you pull drag. Move, people, and get into position. Since we left the main gate, we are now in the food chain!”
The two women moved into position. They were all trained well, but lacked the fine tuning a few missions would give them. He'd spent every hour he had since he took command sharpening their skills. He'd spent countless hours with the group and they were better trained than most, but seriously lacked experienc
e.
They were to escort both tanks to spots where they'd sit beside roadblocks so they could check any vehicles coming or going. The tanks were leading the way, and he'd instructed the point man and everyone else to step in the wide tracks left in the dirt by the heavy machines. That, in his opinion, was the only way to avoid a mine or booby trap.
The morning passed uneventfully. They'd just dropped off the last tank and he knew it would now turn more suspenseful for his troops. They'd have no foot wide tracks to step in, and were on their own.
Taking the radio handset from his radioman, he said, “Base Ops, Rugby One, over.”
“Copy, Rugby One, is the last tank in place?”
“In place, and we are on our own.”
“You are to proceed on your normal mission, but understand, we are currently working a cat and mouse game with the resistance. It is now very probable that you will become involved at some point. Do you copy?”
“Uh, copy, Base. Let me know when and if you need us.”
“Copy, and Base out.”
Walking to his Senior Sergeant, Georgiy said, “Sergeant Starikov, we may become part of a mission against the partisans, so keep everyone on their toes. I want the noise kept down, no joking or loud noises, and watch the sky-lining, okay?”
“I hear you, sir, and I am on it now.”
Georgiy pulled out his map and said, “Senya, move forward and tell Pugin to take a compass heading of 126 degrees and maintain it until I tell her otherwise. Tell her to cut right across the fields and trees. Also, remind her to stay off of trails or paths of any kind.”
“Yes, sir, 126 degrees.” Private Senya almost yelled, and it was loud enough the Senior Sergeant rolled his eyes.
“Patience, Senior Sergeant, because they have no real experience. It will come to them after a few of their comrades are killed and injured.”