“Wait? Wait for what?” she demanded. Gianni kept his eyes on his watch for a few seconds, then smiled and pointed to where the guards were standing.
“We wait for that . . .”
Thunder rumbled in the clear night sky. Gabrielle looked around thinking it couldn’t be a storm. A second shot erupted. A flash of light and smoke filled the night sky as the earth shook around her.
Somewhere off in the distance, a tank was firing on the facility. One boom was quickly followed by another and then another. Shortly after the explosions, small arms fire was heard as well.
“Are you three ready? Now is the time!” Gianni demanded as another explosion sounded nearby. The butterflies that had filled Gabrielle’s stomach only moments before had scattered, and a calm resolve came over her. Her vision focused and it seemed like everything else faded away. This wasn’t the work of the bracelet, the damn thing was still cold as a rock. This was the focus of a true warrior.
“We move on my count. When we do, keep close. First to go are those guards,” Gianni commanded and perched himself so he was ready to sprint, rifle out in front of him. They all lined up behind him and waited for the sign. They had to be cautious. As the fighting started, the soldiers hunkered down in their positions.
Gianni moved the sack that Smith had given him and turned it so that it was strapped to his chest and stomach. It bulged in size and weight, and Gabrielle wondered for a moment what was inside. As if he could hear her thoughts, Gianni opened the flap, removed two grenades, and clutched them firmly in his hands.
“Shock and awe, yes? Fausto and Gabrielle, on me. Lyudmila, provide cover,” he whispered over his shoulder. Gianni stepped out from behind the tree and threw the two grenades into the center of the group of Nazi soldiers.
The soldiers didn’t even have the chance to run. The grenades bounced twice, rolling a few feet after they hit the ground. When they exploded, two of the guards were launched aside. Three of the others jumped over the barricade, exposing themselves and the rest of the soldiers fell away behind the wall.
Gianni was stepping toward them with his rifle aimed. They would make themselves as small as possible while approaching the enemy under fire. Gabrielle called it “duck walking.” With their guns out, shoulders shrugged up to their necks, and walking in a crouched stance, the group looked like a line of ducks waddling into a lake.
Gabrielle followed Gianni with Fausto right behind her. As they approached the line, the three spread out and marched shoulder to shoulder. Gabrielle was no longer the innocent victim. She was no longer the young girl scared of the monsters and the hounds. She was a woman. She was a warrior.
The soldiers saw her group approach, and all turned in their direction with rifles raised and bloodlust in their eyes. Gianni let out a burst fire from his rifle. Simultaneously, Fausto and Gabrielle did the same. The men all twisted and jerked as the projectiles ripped into their flesh and they collapsed to the ground.
Gabrielle knew that just because this first wave of soldiers was down that didn’t mean it was safe. She kept her rifle out in front of her with her finger on the trigger as she scanned the yard. Fausto always yelled at her for keeping her finger on the trigger when she walked. What are you trying to do, kill someone? He would say and laugh as he pointed out her poor trigger discipline. As Gabrielle walked, the thought that Arawn was here pushed gun safety out of her head, and she kept one shaky finger perched just above the trigger.
They reached the mound the soldiers had used for cover, and Gabrielle carefully looked over its edge. In a flash, the remaining soldier that had disappeared rose from hiding with a knife in hand. He screamed like a banshee with the blade in the air and brought it down toward Fausto.
Just as the blade was about to penetrate his chest, there was a distant ‘pop,’ and the man’s head jerked backward. He fell back and landed motionless, slumped over the top of the mound. Gabrielle looked up just in time to see Lyudmila lower her rifle.
“What was that? You know better, Fausto!” Gianni scolded as the three crouched behind the barrier and waited for Lyudmila to join them.
“What now?” Gabrielle asked.
Lyudmila panted as she slid down next to them and reloaded a new round in her rifle. Gabrielle jerked her head with the slap of Lyudmila’s bolt.
“We get into the courtyard just beyond this opening. You two will make your way across to the main building. The bunker is beneath that,” Gianni started as he pointed between Gabrielle and Fausto. “Lyudmila, I need you to climb that wall and perch yourself on top. It will give you the vantage point to provide cover. As for myself . . . ” He trailed off as he opened the sack strapped to his chest. Even in the dim light, Gabrielle could see that it was filled to the brim with grenades and explosives. Gianni’s grin was so wide Gabrielle thought it might split his face in two.
“I have saved all the fun for myself,” Gianni smirked
Gabrielle’s eyes swelled as she saw what must have been fifty pounds of explosives strapped to the old man. She never understood the excitement of the Arditi when it came to combat, but they most certainly were artisans in the craft.
Explosions and gunfire continued to erupt from a distance giving Gianni’s words a twisted orchestra of background ambiance.
“Be ready, my friends. This courtyard is wide open aside from scattered trees and a fountain. Gabrielle, Fausto, you must get across it. Lyudmila and I will do what we must to assure your safety. Lyudmila, get into position. We move on your mark.” Gianni motioned for her to move to the wall, and with more stealth than Gabrielle thought possible Lyudmila threw herself over the barrier and ran to the wall.
When Lyudmila got to the wall, she threw herself against the mixture of concrete and cobblestone. With her rifle over her shoulder, she used crevices in the wall and climbed her way up. In nearly an instant, Lyudmila had scaled the twenty-foot wall and flattened herself against the top, disappearing from sight. Gabrielle squinted, trying to see Lady Death, but all she saw was a hand waving them on.
“That’s the signal. Remember your parts. Good luck.” Gianni paused and looked at his son for a moment. Though no words were spoken, in that silence they told one another everything that they needed to say. Fausto reached out and placed a hand on his father’s shoulder, and Gianni returned the gesture.
“We will see this done, Gianni, I swear,” Gabrielle reassured him. A particularly loud explosion shook Gabrielle, and she had to steady herself before she fell backward. It sounded as though all the tanks fired a once and were leveling the building. They had to move. They just had to wait for the signal. Suddenly, a sharp shot erupted from Lyudmila’s position. She had found her first victim. Time to move.
The three on the ground hoisted themselves over the barrier and ran to the wall as Lyudmila covered them with lethal accuracy. Gianni led as they sheltered behind the cover of the wall, he surveyed the area beyond. Keeping his eye on the courtyard, he motioned for them to follow. With a final press, they ran around the edge of the wall and into the courtyard.
It was just as Gianni had described. There were medium-sized trees and some fountains that provided a little cover. Fortunately, the lighting was relatively dim with most light emanating from the sky. The group ran to the nearest tree and hunkered down.
There was no one in the courtyard. All of the German soldiers were on the other side fighting the American tanks. Gabrielle scanned the area, trying to determine where Arawn might be. A large building at the far end of the courtyard caught her eye. The most likely place. It was almost one hundred yards away, but she knew she had to get to it.
Gabrielle put her hand on Gianni’s shoulder and leaned into him. He was scanning the darkness for signs of enemy soldiers. Fausto had his back to them, scanning for attacks from behind.
“Do you see anything?” she asked, whispering so quietly that she almost couldn’t hear her own words.
“No. That’s what I do not like. Something is wrong,” Gianni replied, his voice s
haky with unease.
“What can we do?” she asked.
“Proceed with caution. The two of you make your way to the left and get to that fountain. I will go right. In the event there is a trap, I will draw all of the attention I can to myself . . .” Gianni turned and looked at Gabrielle, and then at his son who still had his back to them examining the terrain for a sneaking enemy.
“Keep him safe. He is strong, but his head can get the best of him. Stay together no matter what.” Though the light was dim in the courtyard, Gabrielle could have sworn she saw a single tear run down his cheek.
Gianni whistled to get Fausto’s attention, and as he turned, Gianni pointed to Gabrielle and then to the fountain. He mouthed the words “follow” to his son. With that, Gianni sprang from his position and ran in the opposite direction to another tree several feet away. Without even looking at Fausto, Gabrielle was on her feet and running to the fountain.
She knew Fausto was right behind her, he wouldn’t give Gabrielle the satisfaction of being the first one there. She ran with her rifle down, swinging her arms and pushing herself faster in fear that any moment an enemy sniper would take her out. The fountain loomed in front of her, and she pushed herself as hard as she could. Just when she was beginning to think she could make it to the fountain, a sharp pain stung her in the small of her back, and she was thrust forward.
Soon she was tumbling end over end, out of control. Gunfire erupted from all around, and Gabrielle rolled and rolled until she finally collided with the edge of the fountain. As she shook the confusion from her head, she realized that it was Fausto that had tackled her. He had seen an enemy sniper and had tackled her to the ground to save her life. As she lay at the foot of the fountain panting, Gabrielle reached her hand up and clapped Fausto’s cheek. The two laid entangled, hearts racing and eyes locked in a silent understanding for a few moments.
Gianni’s concerns were spot on. The silence they heard was nothing more than a trap waiting to spring to life. The stones of the fountain and dirt around Gabrielle’s feet pocked and erupted as machine-gun fire tore everything around her apart.
“These bastards were waiting!” Fausto shouted, sliding his gun over the edge of the wall and blindly firing. Gabrielle rolled onto her stomach and crawled to the brink of the fountain to see if she could see anything.
A quick look revealed soldiers blocking their path to the buildings. There must have been two dozen of them, as well as several soldiers on the opposing wall firing down at them. Gabrielle gave a fleeting thought to Lyudmila and Gianni before settling on the notion that they could handle themselves. She needed to focus on getting her and Fausto out of this alive.
Gabrielle peeked her head around the side of the fountain again and spotted a German soldier on his knees at the edge of the wall, shooting at their fountain fortress. Without taking her eyes off the soldier, Gabrielle wiggled her right leg and her hip to slide her rifle up until she could touch it. Reaching as far as she could with her hand, Gabrielle tangled the strap of the rifle in her fingers and jerked the weapon into her grasp as she kept her stare on the soldier.
Reloading the gun, she closed one eye and squinted through the sight. Holding the soldier in her crosshairs, Gabrielle took a deep breath and put her finger on the trigger. A second later, the soldier grasped his chest and fell to the ground. Gabrielle jerked her head back and looked down at the gun. She stared at the unfired weapon, dumbfounded for a moment before it occurred to her.
“Lyudmila is still in the fight!” she shouted over her shoulder to Fausto, who still blindly fired over the edge.
“That’s good, is she at least doing something?” Fausto replied sarcastically.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes and crawled further around the edge of the fountain to get a better view of their attackers. Explosions lit up the courtyard, and Gabrielle shook her head, imagining the excitement in Gianni’s eyes. This was the signal to get out of there.
“Fausto, now!” Gabrielle shouted. Rising from cover, she started shooting at anything she could see.
The rifle vibrated in her hands as she fired at the group of enemies guarding the building. They kneeled in a ‘V’ formation, taking cover behind some stone decorations and other small foliage. Explosion after explosion flashed as Gianni threw grenade after grenade. For a moment, Gabrielle was confused and couldn’t tell what was enemy fire and what was her team.
Her gun ran dry, so Gabrielle ducked back behind the fountain and slapped a new magazine into place. They had to get moving. There was no way for them to tell if more would come, or how long until they would be overrun. Gabrielle crawled back over to Fausto who was leaning against the fountain, panting and reloading his weapon.
“We can’t stay here. There’s too many of them! We have to get to the building. Stay close.” Without waiting for Fausto’s response, she crawled back to her post at the other end of the fountain. She peeked to see if more enemies were appearing. There were still a handful of German soldiers, but it appeared they were so busy dealing with Gianni and Lyudmila that they had forgotten about Gabrielle and Fausto.
In a moment of clarity, Gabrielle stood once more, but instead of firing again, she stayed low and sprinted towards the soldiers. She kept to the shadows of the trees and managed to remain unseen but almost gave their position away when she stepped back from her hiding place and bumped into Fausto, who had crept up behind her, managing to startle her.
The remaining soldiers took turns between shooting at Gianni, trying to not get shot by Lyudmila, and shooting at the fountain. Gabrielle let a wide grin cover her dirt washed face when she realized the soldiers hadn’t seen them move from the fountain to the tree line. Panting, she turned and looked at Fausto who was also grinning. They crouched down and waited for the right moment to move again.
Several more soldiers emerged from a stairwell that appeared to lead under the building. They joined their comrades in fighting the explosions and sniper fire. Gabrielle motioned to Fausto, and the two fell to their hands and knees and crawled from their cover to a set of bushes and a low, stone wall. The soft grass turned to a stone walkway that dug into Gabrielle’s palms and knees.
Slowly they crawled to the end of the wall. When they stopped, they were only a few feet from the steps of the building. Fausto had slung his rifle and taken out his blade instead. Gabrielle knew it was to use in close quarters and not draw unwanted attention.
Another soldier came from under the building in the side stairwell. He stopped at the top of the stairs and unslung his rifle.
“Damn . . .” Gabrielle mouthed. Fausto slid closer, and she pointed at the guard they needed to get past. The rest of the soldiers had made their way into the center of the courtyard and were shooting at Gianni and Lyudmila, but this one was clearly told to stand guard. Fausto crawled out in front of Gabrielle and rose to a crouch.
He gripped the knife in his hand and then let out a soft whistle. The soldier turned and looked directly at them. Gabrielle’s blood boiled when the soldier’s blood red eye winked at her. Arawn was here!
The soldier raised his weapon to fire, but he was no match for Fausto’s speed. He stood and threw his blade like Zeus throwing a lightning bolt. The blade moved so quickly it was a blur. One moment it was in Fausto’s grasp, and the next it was buried in the chest of the enemy soldier. It was a silent end to Arawn’s pawn. As the soldier started to fall to the ground, Fausto reached out and cradled him then slowly lowered the soldier down to the ground with one hand covering the dying man’s mouth so he couldn’t yell out.
When the soldier was quietly on the ground, Fausto yanked the metallic blade from his chest. He looked at the stairwell that led beneath the building, then to the one that led into the structure directly and back again.
“We go down,” Gabrielle said with conviction.
Fausto looked at her confused.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“No, but we go down anyway.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
/> Gabrielle and Fausto stood in a long hallway crudely lit by torches. The flickering orange light gave the room an ominous look. Red tapestries with large, black swastikas embossed on them draped the walls. They were definitely going in the right direction.
“I suppose we keep going?” Fausto asked, looking down the hall and then back to the heavy door that led back outside. The battle could still be heard in the distance, and Fausto still battled with his inner drive to get back to the fight. An uncontrollable shiver took over Gabrielle, and she wondered if her body was trying to tell her something that the bracelet wasn’t.
“Yes. We keep going until we find what we are looking for,” Gabrielle ordered, motioning down the hall. Together, they raised their weapons and started to slowly make their way deep into the building. Their steps echoed through the stone and marble hall in spite of their best attempts at staying quiet. Gabrielle bit the inside of her lip at every resonating sound her feet made. If enemy soldiers came down the hall, they had nowhere to run. She doubted even Fausto could get them out of that situation.
Gabrielle prayed they were on the right track. Squeezing the handle of her weapon, she vowed this would not have been for nothing, and hoped they accomplished their task in time to save Gianni and Lyudmila.
When they came to the end of the corridor, they found themselves looking at a large oak door. Gabrielle turned, her brow scrunched in confusion and looked at Fausto.
“Well, this is it. Hitler could be on the other side of this door. Or, there could be a hundred soldiers waiting. Either way, let’s open it and get this over with,” Fausto said as he stood tall and prepared himself. Gabrielle sighed. He was right. No more waiting. She pressed her hand to the heavy door and closed her eyes.
Gabrielle turned the handle and, with an explosion of force, kicked the door. A numbing shock ran up her leg as she tried to drive the door open. It was reinforced, but she impressed even herself by managing to open it. The weighted mass flew open and crashed against the wall inside the next room.
The Gabrielle Series Boxed Set Page 51
