saw a look of hunger in his eyes. Jack had yet to fire any weapon during any of their missions. He was more than ready to now. He was reapplying grease paint to his face and offered it to the rest of them. Colonel Roth and Sergeant Cannon were formulating a plan. Jeff was studying his maps. Em retrieved his journal and stuffed it inside his fatigues. With everything else happening so fast, he was astonished at himself for thinking of his journal first. He looked around for Captain Murphy and saw him inside the driver’s side of the vehicle talking to Sergeant Barnes. Em wondered what that was about.
Jeff was going to navigate them. He had studied his terrain maps. He was sure there were some hills and plateaus that would be the most likely places for the Germans to set up. Jeff estimated them to be close. The men were used to one another by now, so they lined up for travel in the usual order. Colonel Roth led the team with Jeff close behind him. Then Em and Jack in no particular order. Sergeant Cannon followed them, and Captain Murphy usually brought up the rear. Now and again, Sergeant Cannon would take that position. Jeff always accompanied Colonel Roth. He also handled all reconnaissance. He could disappear and reappear without making a sound. The six of them had been the action part of their squad since its inception. Sergeant Barnes sure was a damn good mechanic. Em did not think he minded at all when asked to stay with the vehicle. He sure was good at finding things in the black market too!
Noiselessly, the six of them followed Jeff’s lead and were confident he would lead them true. Before they had gone a mile, Jeff suddenly stopped and turned, putting his finger up to his lips. Em stopped and listened for any sound. The cold night was bright and silent. He heard nothing.
Jeff pointed to Sergeant Cannon. Sergeant Cannon walked up to meet him. Em could barely hear what they were whispering. “Just over that ridge. I heard some talking. They were kind of loud, so maybe we’ll get lucky. We need to get up on top of that ridge. We will be able to see them and see if there is more than one launcher. Don’t use the radio unless you absolutely have to.” Jeff was sure of their position. He indicated where the six of them should climb the embankment. He led the way, and soon, they were on top of the ridge.
Em still had not heard anything or seen anything except forest. He couldn’t believe there was going to be a place for a rocket launcher anywhere on this hillside. Em knew where he was and also knew that these ranges were called the Ardennes and were considered a mountain range, but he had seen hills in Kentucky that were just as big. Jack was so close to Sergeant Cannon that Em thought if Sergeant Cannon farted, Jack’s hair would blow back. He could not believe where his mind would wander at a time like this. He tried to concentrate on Jeff. He knew that when something was about to happen, Jeff would be the first one to react. He looked up the hill to see Jack and Sergeant Cannon. Beyond them was Colonel Roth, and then he saw…nothing but trees and moonlight. He did not panic. He inched a little closer to Jack and turned to see Captain Murphy close behind him. The look on the captain’s face was terrifying. The camouflage only seemed to brighten his other features. The moonlight was so bright that Em thought it might give them away.
Colonel Roth stopped and stooped low to the ground. He whispered to Sergeant Cannon. Then the whole column stopped and stooped. Jeff was gone. Em knew he would return with the information they needed to formulate an effective plan.
After fifteen minutes, which felt like five hours to Em, Jeff returned. He said the launchers were only a quarter mile ahead of them. All Em heard was launchers. How many were there, and what could the six of them do about it? Then he listened to Jeff finish. “I watched for a few minutes. It looks like the other one is being prepared for launch. One crew was celebrating. There were about seven soldiers clearly drinking alcohol of some sort. They had plenty of it. Each of them had their own bottle. The other crew was a couple hundred yards away. There was a crevice between them. The one crew definitely wanted the other crew to know that their rocket had successfully launched. I think we can take care of them quietly. The other crew is so busy that they will not notice. I only counted six on the second crew. There may be another, but if he is there, he must be asleep. Let’s take care of the first site, then see what we can do with those other Nazis.”
The plan was to stay hidden until one of them ventured into the forest to urinate. Hopefully, this would be the quietest way to eliminate them one at a time. Jeff convinced the rest of them that he could do more damage alone and quietly disappeared. Sergeant Cannon became the impromptu leader. Once again, Em’s thoughts went to the irony of the situation. It seemed the rank-and-file order of their team went from lowest ranking to higher ranking. Em knew that if Sergeant Cannon disappeared, then the captain would be in charge next. When they were on the ground, the two pilots knew who was the wisest. Colonel Roth listened and took orders as if he were the enlisted man.
Sergeant Cannon picked a spot above the roadway behind a giant rock. It was a good place to hide. They could retreat quickly and quietly if they needed to. The road below them was the only way through this particular part of the Ardennes. The road descended into the river valley and was the only way in and out of Dinant. The old province had not been disturbed by the Nazis yet. Since Belgium still held on to the belief that they were somewhat neutral in this war, some of the inhabitants were safe.
Em stared down the hill at the quiet landscape and once again thought about the absurdity of war. How could grown, educated men, century after century, fight the same nonwinnable wars? Would mankind ever wise up?
Em looked over the expanse and could just make out the other launcher through the evergreens. The crew below them were still celebrating. Em counted only five. He searched for the other two but could not see any movement, other than the five drinking comrades. Em could not believe it, but they had built a fire. They must feel so secure. Em had not felt secure since the last night in Hawaii, on the beach, talking to Katherine.
Em was about to poke Jack and ask where he thought Jeff was when one of the Germans threw his bottle into the fire. The noise echoed down the hillside. The Germans all reacted in different ways. Two of them just remained standing and drinking, and one of them stumbled into the fire. The other two began to fight. The one who still had a bottle seemed to be trying to save it while the other one was grabbing at it. The one with the bottle could be heard. Em did not speak German, but it was clear the fight was over the alcohol. The two who were still drinking were laughing. The one with the bottle was much smaller than the one trying to get the bottle. This amused the audience. The one who stumbled into the fire had recovered and was stamping at his boots with his left hand while the right hand held on to the liquor bottle. Not one of the five even wondered where their other two friends had gone.
Just then, Jeff reappeared as quietly as he had disappeared. He was not even breathing hard. “I got two of them, but we have to act fast, before they sober up and realize they are gone. Murph, you take Jack and get in front of the launcher. And, Jeffrey, you take Em and Philip. I am going under, so remember, fellas, quietly. They are still pretty busy, so we need to get this done quick. Then we will only have the element of surprise on them for a few brief minutes, so this is it. No turning back now.”
Em was behind Colonel Roth, and Sergeant Cannon was almost crawling toward the launcher. Em could now hear the fire as it crackled and sent embers into the sky. They reached the front of the launcher and looked under the axle and saw all five men now standing around the fire. The fight had subsided when one of the Germans had gotten another bottle from their truck. They were talking and not trying to be quiet. Em crouched lower and looked under the truck toward the front of the launcher. He could see the front axle and saw Jack’s and Captain Murphy’s shadows extending out from under the launcher. The moon was so low on the horizon that their shadows were stretching ten feet beyond the side of the truck. Jack’s shadow almost reached the circle of men standing around the fire. Both Jack and Captain seemed unaware of this disaster. One of the Germans threw another empty bottle into the fire, and the noise was piercing. The light from the erupting flames lit up the sky even brighter. Em felt exposed.
The bottle thrower turned and walked toward the front of the launcher. Em saw Jack and Captain Murphy
