On entering the house Gaile and Constance were led into a room at the far right. There, on a cot, lay a man covered with a blanket. His pale complexion, his feverish trembling, and the dark marks under his eyes, indicated that he was seriously wounded.
- Greg! - Gaile shouted and tried to break away from his captor to get closer to his wounded brother.
- Gaile? - Gregory Mackintosh gasped, his voice sounding terrified.
- Well, well, Sergeant Mackintosh. Or should I say, Major Mackintosh, - said Malcolm Oliver said approaching the bunk and, turning to his, men he added. - Maybe we should square up and salute him, eh boys?
Higgins and Roberts laughed derisively. Oliver grabbed the blanket and tossed it aside outside the bunk. Gaile dropped to his knees at the sight of his brother's condition. His abdomen was bandaged, but a large red stain soaked through the bandages, right in the middle. Connie tried to approach Gaile, but Higgins held her back.
- Well Greg, I can still call you Greg, can't I? - Oliver joked, sitting down on the cot. - We need to know what you've told your superiors in the military police.
- I won't say nothing to you, - Gregory said in a whisper.
- I'd think about it if I were you, Greg, - Oliver replied, and he walked over to Gaile and took several strands of his hair and played with them, adding, - I'd worry more about your pretty little sister, rather than your loyalty to your superiors.
- Fuck you! - Gaile snapped at him, trying to bite him.
- Wow, she's a real wildcat, isn't she! - he said to Roberts, who held Gaile in place, and turning back to Greg threatened. - Here's what's going to happen Gregory, either you tell me what I want to know, or I swear when I'm done with her, you won't recognise your sister.
- You bastard, touch one hair on her head and I'll kill you! - Connie exploded.
Oliver turned contemptuously and kicked Connie in the ribs, and turned his attention to Higgins, who was still holding her.
- Take her outside and put a bullet in her head. We don't need this one.
- Sure, boss, my pleasure, - Higgins replied, pulling Constance and dragging her out of the room.
- Right, back to business, - Oliver said turning back to the wounded Mackintosh, and with a threatening gesture he drew his combat knife from the sheath on his belt, causing a soft hissing sound as the steel scraped against the leather.
Connie tried to catch her breath as Higgins dragged her to the door of the house. He picked her up and pushed her out. Connie staggered and nearly fell, turned angrily, but Higgins gave her another shove and put the barrel of his rifle in her back. Yates and his companions were still at the church door, standing guard and smoking.
- Walk, - Higgins said.
Connie walked reluctantly.
- If I wasn't tied up, I'd shove that rifle up your arse, - she snapped at Higgins.
Higgins laughed hoarsely and gave her a nudge on the shoulder that pushed her forward again. He pulled her behind the truck, the rain making her hair stick to her face. When they were next to the truck bed Higgins stopped her.
- On your knees, - he ordered.
Connie turned to him angrily and spat at him.
- Bullshit, if you're going to shoot me, you'll have to do it face to face, - she spat at him.
Higgins wiped the spittle from his face and, gathering his momentum, he slammed his rifle stock into Constance's face, sending her sprawling to the ground. She tried to get up but felt the barrel of Higgins' gun on her nape.
- Say goodbye, - Higgins said.
There was a detonation. Blood and pieces of skull showered the side of the truck.
- Are you all, right? - a voice she knew all too well said.
Constance looked up and saw Ruslan, the barrel of his shotgun still smoking, the rain beginning to dissipate the smell of gunpowder from the air. Then she looked back and saw Higgins' body, only his head was gone. Ruslan bent down and, leaving the shotgun against the wheel of the truck, pulled a knife from under his coat and cut the ligatures on Connie's wrists.
- Thank you, Ruslan, - Connie said, her voice still a little shaky.
Ruslan said nothing, just put his left hand on her shoulder and nodded. Connie picked up Higgins' rifle from the floor.
- Where's Gaile? - Ruslan asked.
- Fifth house on the left bank, - Connie replied. - Bastard Oliver's got her there, and her brother.
- Right, stay here under cover and keep an eye on the three in the church, - said Ruslan.
- Ruslan, they've locked the civilians in the church, there are wounded among them, - Connie warned him.
Ruslan stopped to think, they had to decide whether to save Gaile and his brother first or the villagers. If he saved Gaile, the three men from the church could slaughter the civilians before he could reach them, but if they freed the civilians, Gaile and his brother could be killed. Ruslan was caught in a dilemma.
- Let's save the civilians, - Connie said. - That's what Gaile would do.
Ruslan looked into her eyes and saw only resolve and firmness, nodded and picked up his shotgun. They moved to the front of the truck, keeping out of sight of the soldiers at the church door. The soldier in the heavy armour set off, looking like he was going to make a round around the back of the church.
- As soon as he turns the corner we run for the church, - Connie said. - If those two see us we shoot and take them down.
- I don't know, Connie, - said Ruslan. - The other guy's machine gun is a problem.
- Listen, there are at least three people bleeding to death in that church for trying to protect Gaile's brother. We must save them.
Ruslan still didn't like jumping into the fire without a plan, but he knew Connie wasn't going to stand still much longer, so he nodded, and they both started running towards the church in the rain.
Yates and Travis were guarding the church door while Knight made his rounds to watch for anyone escaping through a window. Yates saw two blurred figures approaching in the darkness.
- Higgins, Roberts, is that you? - he asked.
Travis turned towards the blurred figures as well. A flash of lightning lit up the night, giving away Ruslan and Constance, who saw Yates and Travis pointing their guns at them when they were barely five metres away. Ruslan and Connie opened fire, synchronising their shots with the next thunderclap of the storm, which was so brutal that the detonations of the guns were barely distinguishable. Yates and Travis went down. But Ruslan's shotgun was not accurate enough at such a long distance, Travis raised his weapon again from the ground, Constance fired on pure instinct, alerting the third guard. Knight came running around the opposite corner of the church, and seeing his dead comrades on the ground, he pointed his machine gun at Connie and Ruslan. Ruslan barely had time to drop the shotgun, grab Connie and cover her behind him, while covering his head with his right arm. The machine gun opened fire.
Shots in quick succession hit Ruslan in the back, his coat was holding up, but the bullets slamming into his muscles and bones were leaving his back bruised, the shells were also ricocheting off his steel arm, avoiding fatal wounds, but causing an incessant ringing that assaulted his ears. Connie screamed.
- Ruslan let go, he's going to kill you!
But Ruslan knew that if he let her go, she would jump in the line of fire trying to protect him, so he held her even tighter, while enduring the hail of bullets and the pain of his bruised back.
Suddenly the grainy machine gun fire ceased. Ruslan could hear nothing but a buzzing sound from the reverberations of the gunfire, but as a good military man he knew what it meant when a machine gun stopped firing, jammed or ran out of ammunition. Whatever the reason, Ruslan just needed those few seconds. He released Constance, stood up and drew his "Dullahan" revolver, took aim and pulled the trigger. The armour-piercing shell tore through the machine gun, shattering it and Knight's heavy armour, opening a hole more than 20 centimetres in diameter in his torso. Knight fell to his knees gurgling in his own blood and ended up on his face on the ground with a muffled splash against the mud.
Inside the house, Gregory was on the floor, trying to crawl over to his sister, leaving a trail of blood. Oliver was holding Gaile by the hair, with the knife against the left side of his face, which was cut quite deeply, from eye to jaw, and bleeding profusely. At that moment the rapid fire of a machine gun was heard. Oliver turned to Roberts.
- Go and see what's going on, - he ordered in alarm.
Roberts ran out of the room.
- Right, - Oliver said, turning his attention back to the prisoners. - Let's get on with it.
- Bastard, - Gregory said with an effort.
- Still at it, eh? Let's see if we can't loosen your tongue by taking an eyeful of this beauty.
- Fuck you! - shouted Gaile with restrained hatred.
Footsteps could be heard on the wooden floor in the hallway of the house.
- Roberts, is that you? - Oliver shouted. - What the hell happened out there?
Roberts appeared in the doorway with his hand clutching his neck, took two steps and fell, like a dead weight, face first onto the wooden floor. A bloodstain began to spread from his neck. Surprise caused Oliver to let go of Gaile's hair, who took the opportunity to rush to his brother's aid. Ruslan appeared in the doorway of the room, a bloody blade protruding from his right arm and retracting to disappear under the armour of the prosthetic, Ruslan ducked slightly to get through the door. Malcolm Oliver was paralysed with fear, still holding the bloody knife in his hand. Ruslan looked at Oliver, then at Gregory, and finally at Abygaile. When he saw the cut on the young woman's face, something inside him exploded. He grabbed Oliver with his left hand and threw him against the wall 4 metres away, blowing out the window he crashed into. The shards of glass cut Oliver's head and face, and he tried to draw his revolver, but failed to do so, as Ruslan's steel right fist hit him full in the face, breaking all his teeth, and throwing him through the broken window, out of the house, sliding about 5 metres into the mud. When he tried to get up, Constance put her foot on his neck and the barrel of a rifle in his bloody face.
- Come on, - she said. - Make my day.
Inside, Ruslan approached Gaile, who was trying to help her brother back to the cot. Ruslan examined the young woman's face. The cut was very deep, it would leave a scar.
- Stay with your brother, - said Ruslan.
The tone of his voice alarmed Abygaile. It lacked any inflection or feeling, save that of blind anger. Ruslan left the house.
- Go get the people out of the church, Constance, - Ruslan said to Connie.
- Ruslan, is something wrong? - said Connie, a little startled by the look on her friend's face, she had never seen him like that before.
- I said get the people out of the church, go! - said Ruslan imperatively.
Connie slowly walked away towards the church, but when she looked back for a moment, she saw that Ruslan had put his foot on Oliver's chest and was pointing his revolver at him.
- Ruslan, don't do it! - shouted Connie, running back and pushing him with all her might to pull him away from the wounded Oliver, but she could barely get his foot off her.
Oliver tried to crawl away, while Ruslan tried to push Connie out of the way.
- Get out of the way Connie, that scum must pay, - Ruslan said in a monotone voice, the scary thing was that he didn't even raise his voice to say it.
- You can't, that's not who you are, - sobbed Connie, struggling to hold her friend.
Gaile appeared in the doorway of the house just as Ruslan managed to get away from Connie, who fell backwards onto the floor. Gaile ran towards Ruslan, catching him just as he raised his revolver to point it at Malcolm Oliver, who was crawling in the mud in the rain. Gaile stepped in front of the barrel of the gun, between Ruslan and his target.
- I won't let you do it, - Gaile said firmly.
- He hurt you, he tried to kill Connie and your brother, and he attacked innocent people, - Ruslan replied with restrained hatred. - He doesn't deserve to live.
- That's for a military court to decide, - Gaile said. - You are not a murderer, Ruslan.
- You don't know that – he replied. - I've killed many people.
- That was during the war. But I'm sure you wouldn't kill anyone in cold blood, and unarmed, - Gaile argued, pulling aside the barrel of his revolver.
- How do you know that? - Ruslan asked looking her in the eye.
- Because you always do the right thing, - Gaile replied with a look of pure determination.
Ruslan lowered the revolver, and Gaile reached over and put his hand on his arm warmly. They stood like that in the rain, looking at each other for a moment that seemed like an eternity.