Clark walked over to the Italian soldiers sitting around a table with their rifles on the ground and their helmets on the table so they could relax. That made it easier as he just walked over until he was right behind them. One of the soldiers did eventually see him but it was too late as Clark just hit them all on the head. He didn't hit them too hard as he didn't want to knock them against the ground and make noise. He just tapped them all the head with the force of a brick and knocked them all unconscious. Once they were out, he broke their rifles in half and piled them together against the table before making his way over to Totollo as the others.
Marslow and the others had gotten into position near the front of the villa. Once they saw the telephone wire was cut, Marslow and Murray led the Mafia men over to the walls of the villa while Alfieri took up a sniper position. When they were close, Marslow took out a grenade and signaled over to Alfieri who lined up a shot and killed one of the German soldiers standing by the car. Marslow then threw the grenade into the main courtyard of the villa while everyone was still confused and gathering their wits but one of the Italian soldiers saw the grenade roll on the ground.
"Grena—" His shout was muffled as the grenade went off and killed him with the explosion while knocking several of the others down for a bit.
"Fascisti!" Alonso and some of the others shouted as they plus Marslow and Murray rushed into the courtyard and opened fire. The Italian soldiers scrambled to a defense with their weapons and fired back with some retreating into the villa for a defensive position. Their gunfire kept the intruders pinned down. Murray led his group through the left side of the villa courtyard where they took cover behind some pillars while Marslow went right and his group took cover behind the large water fountain in the center.
Hearing the gunfire coming from the front, the rest of the soldiers inside the villa rushed in that direction and grouped up. That allowed Totollo, Clark and their group to come in from the back and catch them from behind. They rushed in and gunned down the soldiers stacked up behind cover defending the front. Totollo fired a barrage from his Thompson and Clark fired a few bursts from his BAR. There was a slight moment of hesitation when he pulled the trigger as this was his first time using his weapon in combat but he kept in mind his training and pushed forward. With the soldiers in the front caught off guard from the sneak attack, many were killed and several quickly threw down their guns and surrendered.
"Totollo, Murray, keep watch down here. Elbert, with me!" Marslow rushed up the stairs to the second floor and Clark followed along with a few of the Mafia men. After getting up the stairs, they kept their weapons up and checked their surroundings as they cleared the halls when a German soldier stepped out from behind a pillar and fired his MP-40 from the hip. Clark tackled Marslow to the ground to avoid getting hit but one of the Mafia men did get hit in the shoulder so the others just shot the German full of bullets. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Clark helped him back up and they saw the one of the men tend to his injured friend. "Stay here until we get back. We'll continue on."
They nodded in agreement with one of the men quickly applying pressure to the wound. Clark and Marslow kept moving through the halls but didn't see any more resistance. Counting the dead soldiers on the first floor along with the ones who surrendered they were still missing the German Lieutenant, the Italian Naval Commander, and probably another German soldier. The rest of the villa's second floor was clear which led Clark and Marslow to the double doors of an office. Based on the shuffling and cluttering coming from inside along with the movement of shadows seen underneath the door, they were waiting. Clark used his X-ray vision and confirmed that the German Lieutenant, Italian Naval Commander, and another German soldier were waiting with their guns trained on the door so just rushing in was not going to work.
Clark signaled to Marslow about throwing in a grenade and he got a nod in response. Marslow took out a grenade from his pocket and pulled the pin just as Clark kicked the door in. A barrage of bullets came from the office causing them to duck and cover in response but Marslow managed to toss the grenade in at an angle. They covered their heads and the grenade went off. Judging by the shouts of pain it was effective. Clark and Marslow walked in to see the aftermath. The office was wrecked with torched papers, destroyed chairs and a shrapnel filled desk. The bodies of the soldiers were on the ground dead from the blast as Marslow walked over and kicked away the pistol near the Italian Naval Commander. That's when Clark noticed some movement behind the desk and saw the German Lieutenant roll to the side with Walther P38 pistol and pulled the trigger.
Clark saw the bullet travel through the air in slow motion as he was able to see and perceive it moving when most would only see a flash of light or just a blur. He saw the bullet heading for Marslow so he rushed over at super speed and got in front of him, taking the bullet to the chest. All the German Lieutenant, Marslow and Clark heard was a distinct metallic clank when the bullet hit Clark's chest. But instead of going through and killing him, the bullet compacted and dropped harmlessly to the ground. The German Lieutenant unloaded the rest of his pistol's clip at Clark but the same thing happened. More metallic clank sounds were heard followed by the bullets dropping to the ground. Clark shot the German Lieutenant in the chest, killing him and Marslow turned him around to see if he was bleeding but he was fine.
"You all right? You hurt?" Marslow asked.
"No…I feel fine." Clark was a bit shell shocked. His Kryptonian physiology made it so that most things that can hurt a human don't hurt him. Needles can't penetrate his skin and knives break apart like they were made of glass. He once got his arm caught in the tractor's plow on the farm and all that happened was his sleeve was cut up and the plow blades needed to be replaced. He knew he was tough but he never tested that theory with bullets. He checked his body and patted himself down, not feeling any kind of pain or injury when he knelt down and picked up one of the bullets he was shot with. It had flattened and bent like it hit the heavy armor of a tank. "I'm bulletproof."
"How the hell is that possible?" Marslow was astonished and wouldn't have believed it if he didn't see it.
"Science. Thank you, SSR and Project Rebirth." Clark remarked, handing Marslow the destroyed bullet. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm good. That's two I owe you." Marslow said, still not believing what he just saw. "When the Major said you'd help keep us alive he wasn't kidding. You took bullets to the chest like it was nothing and closed that distance in the blink of an eye. So, you're bulletproof and fast. What else?"
Clark x-rayed the room to see if there was anything hidden and did find a safe behind an old painting. He walked over and removed the painting before grabbing the handle on the safe and ripping the door off with one tug. "Strong too."
"You're just ticking all the boxes, aren't you?" Marslow remarked as Clark took out everything from the safe which were files and maps. "What is this?"
"Looks like maps and files on the island." Clark replied, looking one over that showed troop deployments around the island. "This one shows all German garrisons and deployments around the island. What towns and what divisions."
"Good." Marslow then took out a file labeled Regia Marina that had a map of the island and surrounding waters. "I can do you one better. This file shows the placement and locations of the entire German and Italian Naval forces in the Mediterranean along with the naval mines placements."
"We need to get that to command. That information will help them with their landings." Clark said and Marslow nodded. They grabbed all the files and walked out of the office before heading downstairs to rejoin the others. Totollo, Alfieri, and Murray had kept things contained with the Mafia men having restrained the surrendering Italian troops and celebrating their victory.
"The Naval Commander?" Totollo asked them.
"Dead along with the German Lieutenant. We hit pay dirt in the commander's office. Enough to give Allied command the extra edge in the invasion." Marslow replied.
"Perfect. Not bad, Kal. You handled yourself pretty well. Guess we can't you green anymore." Alfieri joked and Clark chuckled a bit. Marslow did as well before he tossed something to him and it was a dented bullet.
"You have no idea how much of an understatement that is, Al. No idea." Marslow told him. They stuck around a little longer to get additional supplies and clean up. Alonso told them that they would get some help in securing the villa while they continued south. The invasion was happening soon so they needed to head south to check things out.
Line Break xxxxx
The team stayed at the villa for a little longer to get additional supplies and clean up. Luckily with the telephone wire cut no reinforcements were called and the villa was isolated enough that there was no one around to hear the small firefight. The bodies were taken care of and the Italian soldiers were more than happy to surrender when they realized it was the Americans and men of Don Calo who had stopped them. Guess the rumors about the Italians will to fight were true.
After they found the documents in the Naval Commander's safe they used Clark's radio to contact Allied Command in Tunisia. The marine map they found was the biggest advantage they had as it showed placement of German and Italian naval forces and the naval sea mines set up around the island. Knowing all of that was a godsend and the proper channels were informed. British General Harold Alexander told the admirals and officers of the recent information and praise was given to the Recon team for finding this information. The aquatic landings success would be tremendously improved with this information. That's when they were told that General Alexander was ordering a British Parachute battalion mission later that night to help take the port of Syracuse and the Ponte Grande bridge. They were told to head south and link up with the team if possible and secure the bridge.
When more partisans and Mafia men arrived to secure the villa, the recon team continued heading south. The travel took the rest of the day with Alonso knowing some shortcuts and paths the German and Italian army never took, they arrived in the hills and ranges overlooking the town and port of Syracuse by midnight. They were still several klicks from the town but the large hills gave them plenty of coverage and a wide range of sight over the town and port which included the nearby coastal battery fortifications set up overlooking the water. Marslow and the others used their binoculars to look over the town while Clark used his X-ray and super vision to get a better view and drew it in his notebook.
"So, the SSR is what made you bulletproof?" Totollo asked Clark as he watched him draw an outline of the coastal battery fortifications that showed the heavy artillery guns along with the minefield the Italians and Germans had set up.
"Yup. Joined the SSR for code breaking and then they turned me into a super soldier. Wasn't that fun." Clark answered.
"Think they're still taking volunteers?" Alfieri wondered, looking through his sniper scope at the town.
"No, the project was scrubbed. Politics and German sabotage." Clark told him. "They killed the doctor behind the whole project. He was a good man."
Totollo pat Clark on the back before looking over the drawings he made that showed the coastal battery as well as the fortifications and defenses in the town. "So, you get put through the project and get sent to the war while Captain America gets to head to Hollywood and wine and dine with beautiful women? You got the short of the end of the stick, Kal."
"Of course, he did. He's stuck here with us when he could be in Hollywood safe and sound with a hot blonde in his bed." Murray joked. "You got a girl, Kal? You must have one."
"If I did then we're not on speaking terms." Clark replied as Marslow walked over, having just gotten off the radio with command. "What's going on?"
"British Airborne will be here in a few hours. What's it looking like down there?" Marslow asked and Clark handed him the notebook so he could see the fortifications and defenses. "Nice work, Kal."
"Happy to help. I'm thinking we need to take that coastal battery down first before we move into the town." Clark suggested.
"Most of the Italian and German soldiers do seemed to be stationed near that defensive structure but even with Alonso's help I'm not sure we can take it." Totollo pointed out. "We've gotten lucky so far but I'm not one to press my luck."
"Neither am I." Marslow checked his watch and it was around midnight. "Let's rest here for a few hours. When the British drop in, we'll group up with them and hit the battery together before securing the bridge. We'll take hourly watches."
"I'll take the first watch." Clark offered and the others nodded. They grabbed their gear and changed from the civilian clothes back into their army gear. Clark slipped on his uniform and put his pack next to his rifle when he noticed the others looking at him. "What?"
"What's with the S?" Marslow wondered, pointing to the black shield and red S-symbol he had on his uniform. "Does it stand for something?"
"SSR but then you're missing a few letters." Totollo pointed out.
"No, it's uh…it's kind of a family marker. A crest, you could say." Clark answered.
"Your family Crest is an S? Wouldn't it make more sense to be an E?" Murray wondered. "Then again a giant E on your chest would look weird."
"And the giant S doesn't?" Alfieri pointed out.
"I like it. Looks good." Alonso told him.
"Thank you." Clark replied. "Just get some rest. I'll let you know if something comes up."
Several hours later…
It was around 4 o'clock in the morning and there was nothing but pitch black darkness and the distant sound of waves crashing against the rocks. There were some lights and lamps on in Syracuse and at the coastal battery but for the most part things were quiet. Everyone was asleep. Marslow, Totollo, Alfieri, Murray, Alonso, and the others were all sleeping while Clark was still on watch. You'd think being up for that long would have made him tired but he was fine and on alert. With his X-ray vision, he was able to tell that most of the German and Italian soldiers were asleep with a few on watch but they didn't know that they were around. Clark was sitting against a rock, looking down at the city and coastal battery in the distance while sparing a glance up at the sky every now and then. When he was a kid he liked looking at the night sky because of how incredible it was with the stars and everything. He spent plenty of nights with his parents looking up at the stars and even got a telescope to turn part of the barn into a little observatory.
He grabbed his canteen and took a small sip of water before putting it back in his pack. That's when he reached in and took out a notebook. It wasn't the one he used in the field as this was a personal one. A new one since he sent his journal along with his necklace to Peggy for safekeeping. It was like his other journal where he wrote things down that were in his head which at this point were his thoughts on the mission and the war effort so far. He reached into the fold of his journal which is where he kept two photos. One was of him and his parents at the Harvest Festival in Smallville in 1928. One year before the Great Depression and things got tough in Smallville but before then…things were good. The other photo was of him and Peggy on their date taken at the World's Fairground. He smiled fondly as he remembered how things were much simpler back then. He hoped Peggy was all right and she could find it in herself to forgive him for lying to her.
He was brought out of his thoughts about Peggy when his super hearing picked up the sound of planes coming in from the west. He looked up in the sky and adjusted his eyes, using his super vision to see them at least a few miles off the coast but closing in fast. British transport planes with some carrying in Paratrooper gliders. While that was a good sign, his super hearing also picked up German chatter and movement around the island as they picked up the British airplanes and were manning the Anti-aircraft artillery.
"Guys, wake up." Clark shook Marslow and the others awake after putting his photos and journal away. "Wake up."
"What? What's going on?" Marslow asked, rubbing his eyes, and seeing it was still pitch black when he heard the distance sound of AA guns. "What's going on?"
"British Airborne are coming in." Clark told him and the others began to wake up. He handed Marslow some binoculars and pointed up in the sky where the flak fire seemed to be concentrated. He didn't see anything but the occasional AA flak fire flashes illuminated the shapes of airplanes.
"Germans must have picked up their planes." Totollo said, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head to wake up.
"All right. They're gonna be dropping in soon enough so let's get ready and make sure they don't run into any Germans." Marslow stated. They grabbed their gear and loaded their rifles while Alonso had some of his men start the trucks and move them to the staging area which would be at the old farm a mile from their current position. It was the perfect place to launch an attack at the coastal battery and pretty well isolated. The Recon team with Alonso and some of the partisans went on foot and began heading down the hill and into the surrounding plains and woods.
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