It had been a couple of hours since they had left the harbour, Fred had set an easterly course. The slight swell rocked the boat gently. Ruslan was loading bullets into the magazines of his pistols, seemingly engrossed in the task. While Connie and Gaile were out on deck, watching the cliffs of Albion recede into the distance as they ventured across the channel towards the Norman coast.
- Connie, can I ask you a question? - Gaile said a little uneasily.
- Of course you can Aby, in fact you just asked me one, - Constance's statement brought a smile to Abygaile's face.
- Yes, I suppose I did, - Gaile replied.
- What did you want to ask me?
- You and Ruslan have known each other for a long time, haven't you?
- For about five years, but we've been getting closer for the last year and a half, - Connie replied. - Why is that?
- So, you are... - started Gaile, but she lowered her head a bit embarrassed.
- We're what? - asked Connie, pretending to be surprised.
- You know... - Gaile continued and added quietly. - Are you two a couple?
- Me and Ruslan? - said Connie and burst out laughing at Gaile's affirmative nod. - Not at all Aby.
- Really? - Gaile said in surprise. - You're very close, and you're always together in everything you do. I thought that...
- I'll tell you something, you're more my type than Ruslan, - Constance said winking at the redhead, who blushed as she realised the connotations of her travelling companion's confession.
- Ah, I didn't know that, well, it just seemed... How have you decided to follow him even to a warzone?
- We are good friends, the best I would say. He actually sees me as a sister, - Connie said. - Besides, this is Ruslan we're talking about. For him to be interested in a woman, she would have to be exceptional. As long as I've known him, I haven't seen him interested in any. At least not until now.
- What do you mean? - Gaile asked.
- Abygaile, when a man decides to go to war because a person asks him to. It's not usually out of pure rationality, but rather the opposite.
- But Ruslan told me he didn't know exactly why he decided to come.
- That may be true. He's such an unsentimental fool, I doubt he'd know he was in love even if his heart leapt out of his chest and slapped him in the face.
- How do you know when you're in love? - Gaile asked, turning red as a tomato.
- Good question, - Connie answered, throwing her arms up in the air. - I guess you just know, and that's it.
- That's not an answer.
- What's with all these questions? Do you know anyone who's in love? - asked Connie mischievously.
- Forget I asked, - Gaile replied with an annoyed look on her face and turned away to enter the cabin of the trawler.
"This trip is going to be fun" thought Constance with a mischievous grin still on her face.
Gaile entered and sat down at the table opposite Ruslan, who was still preparing the ammunition magazines, stuffing them into the pockets of his belt and the inside of his coat. Gaile was refilling a canister on her belt with bullets for her revolver, but she was sneaking glances at Ruslan.
- What's the matter? - the giant asked suddenly.
Abygaile was startled and dropped several shells on the table. She looked up at Ruslan sheepishly, through her fringe, which was slightly obscuring her face. Ruslan was staring at her, his hands had ceased their activity, he was devoting his full attention to Abygaile. Nervousness was beginning to take hold of the young woman.
- Nothing, I was just wondering what you were thinking about, - she said quickly.
- Nothing in particular, - Ruslan answered, resuming his task.
- Tell me, aren't you afraid of going back to a warzone?
- Well, I'd be lying if I said I'm not.
- Then why did you agree to go back? - Gaile asked, looking directly at him.
- I told you, I don't know exactly why, - Ruslan said without looking up from his hands.
- Ruslan - the seriousness in Abygaile's tone made his interlocutor stop what he was doing again. - Try to explain it to me, so that maybe you too can come to a conclusion.
Ruslan pushed his coat aside and focused his gaze on Gaile's eyes. He didn't quite know why he had decided to help her, but he had been thinking about it for some time. Perhaps, as Gaile said, if he talked about it with someone, he would finally understand why he had decided to risk his life again on this quest.
- When you told us that it was your brother who was in trouble, and that you needed help, you did so with great conviction, - Ruslan said. - I thought that, if it had been me who was missing, my family would have done exactly the same as you. They would never have given up until someone came looking for me. I guess I just decided to do what was right.
- But when Arthur asked you to, you said no.
- Yes, but when I saw your eyes, the determination and sadness in them. I couldn't help but want to lend you a hand. I thought I could at least help ease the heavy burden you were feeling at that moment.
Gaile stood, bullet in one hand and holster in the other, unable to say a word. Ruslan's statement had taken her by surprise.
- I thank you for agreeing, - she finally said. - The truth is that since I met you and Connie, and your family, I've been able to feel a little more relaxed, despite the situation.
Ruslan simply nodded and went back to focusing on stowing magazines in his coat. Connie walked in just then and stared at Gaile, who was smiling as he readied his ammunition.
- Did I miss something? - he said in an intrigued tone.
- You'll never know, - Ruslan replied mockingly, and winked at Gaile, who began to chuckle under his breath.
Meanwhile, Connie kept glancing from one to the other, asking them insistently what had happened. But none of them answered her, as they shared a look of complicity.
The Galian coastline was already on the horizon, a dark grey line, contrasting slightly with the sea, a dull black colour on that moonless night. Connie, Ruslan and Gaile were preparing for the landing, checking weapons, plotting the route to Carentan on a map and planning where they could camp without being discovered, when Fred entered the cabin.
- Mes amis, we will be there in 15 minutes, and as promised under cover of darkness.
- Thank you, Fred - said Gaile said with a smile.
- You're welcome, chérie," Fred said gallantly. - I hope you find your brother safe and sound. Do you need me to come back and pick you up?
- That won't be necessary, Fred, but thank you, - said Ruslan. - Once we have Gaile's brother, we should send word, and meet Arthur and McGregor at Albion HQ near the coast.
Fred nodded and went back out to man the helm. A quarter of an hour later the old trawler anchored in a small cove between two cliffs. Ruslan leapt overboard, the water up to his knees but when Connie and Gaile followed him, they ended up waist-deep in water. Fred leaned against the gunwale as they emerged from the breaking water onto the sandy beach. He waved to them from his boat and said goodbye.
- Bon chance, mes amis, - he shouted, waving his arm.
- Thanks for everything Freddie, - Connie shouted back, as the three waved their arms in farewell.
As Fred's boat turned and began to sail off into the distance, back to Albion, Gaile, Ruslan and Connie climbed up the path that led from the beach and into the nearby forest. They continued on through the forest, until they came to the edge of a clearing. Ruslan motioned for them to wait, stepped out of the bushes and surveyed the area around the clearing. When he had ascertained that all was safe, he motioned them forward. Once they were assembled, Ruslan took the map and a lantern from his pack.
- Well, it's about 70 miles from here to Carentan. If we go at a good pace, we can get there in two days, maybe even less.
- Bear in mind that our strides are a third of yours, - Connie said. - We can't keep up with you, it would be like running a marathon.
- I know, I've calculated it to your pace, - Ruslan answered.
- Sometimes I hate being so short, - Gaile mumbled.
- You're not short Aby, - Connie said. - It's just that Ruslan is too big. We're average.
Ruslan put away the map and the lantern and set off.
For hours they walked through the forest, heading towards their destination, avoiding paths and areas that were too open, so as not to be left out in the open. They decided to stop as dawn began to break. Ruslan went ahead to scout the terrain, while Connie and Gaile rested.
- How far have we come? - Gaile asked.
- About 15 miles, - Connie as replied she opened a packet of biscuits and ate three in one bite.
- There's still a long way to go, shouldn't Ruslan rest too?
- Are you worried about him? - Connie said with a mischievous grin on her face.
- Connie, don't you ever get tired? - Gaile replied, annoyed, but a little flushed.
- What, and miss those pure, innocent, embarrassed reactions of yours? No way, - Constance said sarcastically.
Gaile was about to reply scathingly when a noise caused them to turn and grab their rifles. Ruslan emerged from the undergrowth, full of leaves.
- The way from here is clear, I've been clearing a path in the bushes.
- You frightened the life out of us, - Connie said. - You even made me throw away my packet of biscuits, and I hadn't finished them yet.
- I can't tell you how sorry I am, - Ruslan replied scornfully.
Connie continued to prod Ruslan, and Ruslan replied in a monotone. Gaile stood watching them and smiled. As Connie had said on the boat, there were no two better friends than them.
- Rest for another half hour and then we'll go on. We have at least 25 more miles to cover before sunset, - Ruslan said, and taking out his canteen, he took a long drink.
They marched all day. At dusk they decided to camp in a small clearing surrounded by bushes with a single oak tree in the centre, under which they sat down to rest. Ruslan took a piece of jerky out of his pack and began to cut off pieces with his knife and chew them. Gaile stared at him, until he held out a piece with his knife. She accepted it and sat down beside him as he chewed the parched meat. Connie looked at them and smiled to herself as she pulled out a blanket for the night against the trunk of the oak tree. The three of them went to rest as soon as it was pitch dark. Only the pale light of a crescent moon illuminated the small clearing. Ruslan woke with a start, the same damned dream again. He was going to get up to take a walk and clear his head, but he felt something against his left arm. Gaile had fallen asleep next to him and had ended up leaning against his arm, which she was holding like a pillow. Connie was sleeping loosely on the other side of Gaile, the blanket she had covered herself with had been left lying on the floor and she was snoring like a locomotive.
"Of course," thought Ruslan. "How unladylike she is sometimes. Though that may be what makes her so special."
He smiled at the witticism, as his friend stirred in her sleep, drooled and snored again. Then Ruslan noticed Gaile squeezing his arm. He turned his head towards her and for the first time stopped to look at her closely. The faint moonlight illuminated her snow-white face, covered with small dark freckles; several strands of hair, red as orchids, fell over her forehead. Ruslan had never noticed how petite Abygaile was, even sitting, her head barely reached halfway up his arm, well below his shoulder. He stared at her face, looking peaceful, as she slept. Ruslan felt his agitation fade, laid his head back against the trunk of the oak, and for the first time in over a year, he slept peacefully.
As dawn broke, the sun's rays filtered through the leaves of the oak. Gaile awoke to the warmth of the sun, which bathed his face.
- Good morning, - Ruslan greeted.
- Good morning, - she replied, still drowsy.
Then she realised that she was hugging something. When she realised it was Ruslan's arm, she pulled away quickly, her face flushed with embarrassment.
- I'm sorry, it's just that I usually cuddle up to my pillow at night and... - she said. - Gaile suddenly fell silent, still shocked by what she had just confessed. - What am I saying?
- Don't worry, my older sister has the same habit, - Ruslan said, smiling.
Gaile stared at him, still a little self-conscious. She had never really noticed because Ruslan was so tall, but now that she had his face at eye level, she could observe him in detail. His hair was silver, almost white. Strands of his fringes, quite long, fell over his face, which was covered at the bottom by a neatly trimmed beard, the same colour as his hair, which looked like white velvet. His skin was pale like his mother's, and on the right side of his face a large, irregular, pinkish furrow ran from the base of his hair to his jaw, also bisecting the right side of his beard and the eyebrow above his right eye. His right eye was covered by the black leather patch he usually wore, but his left eye was an iridescent greenish blue. His face and head were large, much larger than Gaile could reach with his small hands, yet he could hardly suppress the urge to rub Ruslan's beard with his hands.
- Is something wrong? - Ruslan said with a worried look on his face.
- Nothing, - Gaile replied nervously, realising that she had been staring at him.
Ruslan got up, Gaile turned to wake Constance, but no matter how much he shook her, she was still snoring. Ruslan went over to her.
- You won't get anywhere, - he said to Gaile, and then, standing on the other side of Connie, he shouted. - You've got ten minutes for breakfast, you bunch of slackers, whoever doesn't finish in that time will go through the drill without a bite!
Connie jumped up as if on a spur of the moment as she shouted.
- I'd rather die than go without breakfast.
Suddenly Connie turned around to the laughter of Gaile and Ruslan and looked at them with an unfriendly face.
- Just so you know, you can't play with my meals, - she said, annoyed.
It took Ruslan giving half of his breakfast to Connie for her anger to subside. After packing up, they continued their march. They were five miles from Carentan when the sky darkened with storm clouds, thunder roared and lightning momentarily blinded them, a bolt of lightning struck a tree 50 feet away, setting it on fire. The three decided to leave the forest because of the danger posed by the storm. The rain was soaking them to the bone, it was a continuous curtain of water that barely let them see anything beyond 20 metres. They reached an old forest track that, according to the map, led to their destination. Ruslan's feet sank into the mud that the torrential rain had turned the road into. They drove on for half an hour in the rain, when headlights flashed behind them. It was a military truck; with the noise of the storm, they had not been able to hear the sound of the engine approaching. Ruslan readied his shotgun, while Connie and Gaile wielded their rifles. The truck drew closer and slowed to a stop a few yards from them. The driver's and passenger doors opened and two figures in military fatigues climbed out. They were Albion soldiers. One of them approached.
- Ruslan? Ruslan Drake? - the hooded figure said.
- Who are you, may I ask? - Ruslan replied.
- It's me, Malcolm Oliver, - the figure said, removing the hood of his rainproof cape and revealing his face. - We were in boot camp together under Doyle's orders.
- Oliver, - said Ruslan and lowered his shotgun, motioning for Connie and Gaile to do the same. - What are you doing here? I thought our forces were further north-east.
- Yes, but we were tasked with inspecting the villages for wounded.
- You're not, by any chance, going to Carentan? - Connie asked, Ruslan turned sharply to tell her to shut up, but didn't do so in time.
- Yes, it's on our route, - Oliver said. - We'll give you a lift if you want. Get in the back with ours, there's still room.
Oliver accompanied them to the back of the truck, under the tarpaulin were four other soldiers, one of them with the heavy armour of a machine gunner. Connie climbed in first and helped Gaile up. Ruslan was about to climb in when Oliver held him back.
- I thought you'd left the army, - he said.
- Yes, I have.
- Then why are you here?
- We're looking for my brother, - Gaile said from inside the truck.
- Your brother, - Oliver repeated. - What's his name? Maybe he's one of the wounded we picked up yesterday and left at HQ.
Ruslan hesitated between trusting Oliver or taking McGregor's advice and trusting no one. But Gaile decided for him before he could do anything.
- His name is Gregory Mackintosh.
- Sergeant Greg Mackintosh? - Oliver asked.
- Yes, the same. Have you found him?
- No, not yet, but we're still looking for him. We just had information that he might be in Carentan, - said Oliver.
- Yes, that's what they told us, - Ruslan said.
- Who told you that? - Oliver asked.
- A contact.
- Who, Ruslan? - Oliver asked insistently.
Ruslan noticed movement under Oliver's mackintosh, as if he was rummaging through his pockets. The soldiers inside the truck rose from their seats. It didn't smell right to Ruslan.
- Why do you want to know, Malcolm? - he asked.
- You answer the question, - Oliver replied. - Was it the military police?
Ruslan started to raise his shotgun, as the men inside the truck jumped on Constance and Gaile, pinning them to the floor of the vehicle's bed. A detonation was heard above the noise of the rain, and Ruslan felt a blow to the torso, then another, louder detonation, and a sudden impact to the back sent Ruslan face first to the ground. He lay motionless. Oliver had shot him through his rainproof cape with his revolver, and the driver had shot him point-blank in the back with his rifle. Gaile and Connie were screaming and trying to get away from their captors.
- Ruslan!!! - Gaile shouted.
- You bastards!!! - Connie shouted.
- Shut them up! - Oliver said. - We'll take them away.
- Weren't you supposed to be friends?! - Gaile shouted.
- Friends? Why, because we trained together for three weeks a decade ago? - Oliver said mockingly. - What I did know was that this guy was dangerous. Now that he's dead, he won't give us any more trouble. As for you, we'll see what we'll do when we've found your brother's snitch.
The men in the truck tied them up and left them lying helplessly on the ground. The truck drove away, leaving Ruslan's body lying in the mud on the road in the rain.
Fifteen minutes later the truck entered the village of Carentan. The village consisted of several houses, whitewashed with lime and black slate roofs, on either side of the unpaved road through the village, a white-painted wooden church standing out on the right-hand side of the road, separated from the houses by a small, trellised garden. Malcolm Oliver and the driver got out and walked to the back of the vehicle.
- Here we are, - he said to those inside. - Get them out and don't let them do anything stupid, understood?
The four soldiers forced Connie and Gaile out of the truck, their hands tied behind their backs.
- If you think you're going to get away with this...! - Connie began to threaten them.
Oliver punched her in the abdomen, forcing her to bend over, trying to catch her breath.
- Pick her up, - he said to one of his men, and turning to Constance added. - I always get my way. You'd better learn to shut your big mouth before you get really hurt.
- You're a bastard! - Gaile shouted back.
- Of course, that's why I win, - he replied with a laugh, and turning to the truck driver, he ordered. - Yates, go with Travis and bring me the mayor of this dump.
The supposed Yates and Travis, clad in their mackintoshes, drove through the houses, kicking down the doors. Families could be heard screaming in fear of the armed soldiers bursting into their homes. After a few minutes, the two soldiers came out of the fourth registered house dragging a man, when he was in front of the truck's headlights, they could see that he was an old man, about sixty years old, his aged face wore a grimace of real fear, his clothes, a pair of woollen pyjamas, were soaking wet in the rain. Yates and Travis threw the poor man to the ground in front of Oliver.
- You have an Albion soldier hiding in this village of yours, where is he? - Oliver asked the elderly mayor.
- Please don't hurt us, - the mayor pleaded in Albionese with a thick Galian accent.
- That depends on your answer, old man, - Oliver said with contempt.
- There is no military of yours in the village, - the mayor replied.
Oliver kicked the old man in the face, knocking him backwards onto the muddy road.
- Wrong answer, old man! - Oliver said and turning to Yates he ordered. - Get the old man's family.
- No, please... - the mayor began, but another kick from Oliver, this time to the abdomen, cut off his plea and made him cough as he tried to catch his breath.
Yates and Travis brought in an old woman, the same age as the mayor, and a young woman in her 30s.
- These are his wife and daughter, Lieutenant, - Yates said as he and Travis tossed them in front of Oliver.
- OK, old man, - Oliver said, turning to the mayor again. - I'll ask you again. If the answer is still no, I'll put a bullet in your daughter's leg.
The young woman was terrified and trembling in the rain. The mayor was as white as a sheet. Malcolm Oliver pulled out his revolver and cocked it, pulling with measured slowness on the hammer of the gun, causing the sound of the drum turning to make a greater impact. The mayor looked at him in despair and glanced at his daughter who was pleading with him in Galian between sobs.
- Well? - Oliver said, bending down and resting the barrel against the mayor's daughter's thigh.
Gaile struggled to free herself from the situation, but the soldier holding her jerked the butt of his pistol across her shoulder. Connie was still on her knees on the ground trying to catch her breath, while the truck driver had the barrel of his rifle pressed against the back of her neck.
The rest of the village had woken up to the commotion and the screams of the threatened young woman, and had come out of their homes, but Oliver's men kept them at bay by firing at the first two men who tried to advance on them. Their wives and children were kneeling beside them as they struggled with the pain of the gunfire.
Oliver began to pull the trigger of the gun, calmly, without haste. The young woman tried to move, but the heavily armoured soldier grabbed her by the hair. Oliver looked at the mayor and smiled sadistically, while the mayor's elderly wife pleaded with him in Galian in tears.
- Enough! - Gaile shouted and turning to the mayor added. - Tell him what he wants to hear.
- Gaile, it's your brother whom we're talking about, - Connie gasped.
- That's what he would do, - Abygaile replied.
The mayor slumped his shoulders in defeat. He pointed to a house next to his own.
- He's in that house, - he said.
- Good, - Oliver replied, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet went clean through the young woman's leg. A howl of pain flooded the town. The mayor and his wife rushed towards their heavily bleeding daughter, trying to stem the bleeding.
- You son of a bitch! - Gaile shouted angrily.
Connie glared at Oliver with a furious look on her face as he approached them.
- Roberts, Higgins, bring them in, - he said, heading for the house the mayor had pointed out, and turning to his three other men, he added. - Yates, Travis, Knight, you three get all the others to the church and lock them up.
As Oliver entered the house, Roberts and Higgins forced Gaile and Constance to follow him inside. The other three forced the villagers to the church at gunpoint.
The patter of rain on his head brought Ruslan back to consciousness. He checked to see if he was wounded. The bullets had been stopped by the coat his father had made for him.
"All-proof, eh, father?" thought Ruslan, remembering his father's words. "Couldn't you have just said bulletproof?"
Ruslan stood up and grunted in pain. The coat had stopped the bullets, but it hadn't reduced the impact. He lifted his shirt and saw that there was a huge welt on his abdomen.
"If a revolver bullet does this, I don't think I want to see what my back looks like," thought Ruslan.
He picked up his duffel and shotgun from the mud, checked it to make sure it was working properly and started to run, following the wheels of the truck, under the storm. He had to get to Carentan as soon as possible. He had to help Gaile and Connie. And while he was at it, he had to settle the score with Oliver and his thugs.