Soldiers

Cold day, again. Wilhelm walked down the streets of Warsaw alone, observing the people around him as he went. His uniform deterred most of them from looking back. Other soldiers had their way with the city, Wilhelm surmised: a tale as old as war itself. Otherwise, he couldn’t explain the darting eyes, pale complexion, when he walked near. It didn’t make sense.

And looking around this area of the city, Wilhelm didn’t understand why they showed such fear. The buildings still stood strong, undamaged by the brief siege. The EIF’s strikes proved surgical. Only the occasional blockade would remind one that the city had changed hands. That, and the navy blue uniforms marching throughout the city. Perhaps they were afraid of change itself, or the results if they decided to break curfew, or… Well, any number of reasons came to mind, but Wilhelm decided to ignore them

His mission today was simply to find a post office. He could, of course, have sent his mail from the makeshift barracks that the captain had seized, but sending money complicated the matter. It could take months for that kind of thing to be approved, through official channels, and Wilhelm’s orphanage didn’t have months. He didn’t care much for the impoverished place, now that he was free of it. Even so, he felt obligated to pay them back, in some small way.

When he found his quarry, Wilhelm walked in quickly. There was a line, a long one, with civilians and soldiers alike. For the civilians, Wilhelm assumed they meant to send their money to the east. Afraid of the EIF seizing their assets, maybe? It was none of Wilhelm’s business, so he paid it no mind. Soldiers cut the line, and no civilian would speak against it. The old woman in front of Wilhelm turned back and motioned for him to go ahead, shaking all the while.

Wilhelm just smiled. “No, ma’am. I’m in no rush, thank you.”

It was true; he had no reason to move quickly on his day off, not that she needed to know that. While he waited, he looked around more closely and saw someone near the front that he’d never expected to see: Aurelia. She held a padded envelope, much like Wilhelm’s.

“Well, look who it is,” Wilhelm said when Aurelia walked out to leave. “Hold up, Aurelia. I’ve got something important to ask you.”

“Can’t you just tell me later, Wil?”

“I said important.”

“And I say it’s probably not.”

Wilhelm chuckled. “Well, only one way to find out, isn’t there?”

Aurelia sighed, leaning on the post office’s wall. She opened the only magazine they had there that was in English and began flipping through pages. “Make it quick, got it?”

Wilhelm nodded and finished his business. Once he did, the two began walking back to the base, and Wilhelm thought about how he would ask his question. She’s prickly, today.

“What are you all mum for? Get on with it, or I’m taking a taxi.”

“Right… One thing. Gotta say, seeing you here was a hell of a shock. I never thought you’d be giving back to anyone. You really do have a heart.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“That envelope. Don’t try to hide it; that was a fat stack of cash in there, Aurelia.”

Aurelia’s eyes darted away, and her movements turned rigid. “Dunno what you mean.”

“You’re an awful liar.”

“Fine, you got me,” she said, regaining her normal swagger. “So what? I’ve got a family back in Spain, a whole village relying on me. Each year, the harvests get worse. Someone’s got to be making money, and it sure isn’t them.”

Wilhelm laughed. “Sorry, it’s just… Even when you’re doing something good, you find a way to make it sound bad. Really impressive, honestly.”

“Shut it. I really am gonna leave, you know.”

“Alright, I’ll get to business… You talk to Florent, lately?”

Aurelia’s eyes turned downcast. “No, not really. I’m not one to push people, and he’s never gonna ask for help. You know how he is.”

“Let’s pay him a visit, then. He can’t run away if we’re outside his door, right?”

“Could just keep it locked.”

“Then I’ll kick the damn thing down.”

Aurelia suppressed a chuckle. “Fine, I’ll come, but you’re on your own there. Moment the captain asks about it, I’m ratting you out.”

“I’d expect no less. One problem: No idea where his room is.”

__________________________________________________________________________

Thankfully, Aurelia did. On their way there, they ran into Mathilde, who mentioned that she tried talking to him, too. Wilhelm wondered why she thought she’d succeed, since the two didn’t seem particularly close, but maybe two French people could relate in a way that the rest of them couldn’t. Either way, she’d failed, so she wished the two of them luck before leaving. Aurelia snickered about something when she did, but Wilhelm ignored her jabs.

Outside of Florent’s room, Aurelia knocked first. No answer.

“Hey, Florent! It’s Aurelia. Just, uh… wanted to talk about strategy, you know?”

Bad excuse. Florent evidently thought the same because there was, again, no answer.

“Alright, not really. I’m just checking on you, is all. I know things are tough, but we’re partners, so… You can talk to me, you know?” Right, I guess they were a pair.

Again, no answer. Wilhelm took the scene.

“Hey, it’s Wilhelm. Yeah, I’m here too. Open the door, or I’m kicking it down.”

Still, no answer.

“Okay, your choice, Florent.” Wilhelm turned around and threw his leg backwards. His foot slammed into the door, just under its knob, and the door shook. Then, he did it again. On the third try, the door flew open… And his foot landed lightly into Florent’s stomach.

“You’re fucking crazy, man… Just come in, already.” Florent beckoned the two of them in, inspecting the door for a moment before softly shutting it. “I would’ve opened it, with or without that stupid threat of yours. Did I say that you were crazy, yet?”

“Hey, it got results,” Wilhelm said. “Yeesh, this place looks awful.”

And it did. Clothes strewn all around, empty bottles in the corner of the room, and cracks all over the wall. From what, Wilhelm could only guess. Damian’s death must’ve hit him hard.

He started picking up some of the mess, out of habit, and Florent merely watched.

“So, what do you want? Here to give me some speech, like everybody else?”

“Of course not, Florent,” Aurelia said. “We’re here because we’re worried. That’s all.”

“Yeah… Look, Damian died right in front of me,” Wilhelm said. “It hurt me, too. So I won’t sit here and tell you that you have to move on, right away. You guys were closer than we were.”

A dark look overtook Florent’s eyes. “That’s not what this is about. Not really.”

“Huh?”

“Aurelia knows. But everyone else in Team B’s just fine, except for me. Funny, huh?”

Wilhelm looked at Aurelia. “What’s he talking about?”

“...Our side of things went pretty smoothly, but there was… a hiccup, I guess. We got found out, before we got to the defense system. There weren’t a lot of soldiers guarding it. Should’ve been an easy fight. But… they had one thing that held us back.”

“Human fucking shields!” Florent said. “Scientists in their lab coats, random people from the base, all right by that field, tied down in front of those assholes. And what does Storm do?”

Wilhelm knew. “She took the shot.”

“She took the shot! Perfect Storm, the captain’s dog. One rocket, and they all went up in flames… There was a kid, even. And I just watched… Didn’t do a damn thing! And so did you.”

Aurelia said nothing.

“Look, it’s a terrible thing,” Wilhelm said. “But it’s not your fault. Captain’s orders, right? He made the call to keep you guys safe… And he’d have done the same for Damian.”

Florent shook his head. “This and that are different. With these cybersuits, we’re strong enough to fight, even in situations like that. We could’ve killed them, rescued the hostages-”

“It’s a nice fairy tale, isn’t it?” Aurelia said. “That we could be these perfect heroes, saving the day. But we’re not… We’re soldiers, Florent. And soldiers follow their orders.”

Florent fell silent.

“Can you still do that, Florent?”

“…Got no choice, really. I need the money, just like everyone else, and I don’t want to leave you guys out to dry. But you’re right, Aurelia. We’re not heroes. I see that now.”

Wilhelm, who’d busied himself with tidying, found a pack of cards.

“Hey, that’s enough of the heavy stuff. What do you say to a game, Florent?”

Florent’s eyes widened momentarily, then he broke out into a long laugh.

“You always surprise me, man… Sure, why not? It’ll be a bigger bet, this time.”

For the first time, Aurelia smiled. “I’m in, too.”

“Can’t play bridge without pairs, though,” Florent said. His smile faded away. The three sat around a small table, dealing cards without saying a word. Game after game, Florent played like a man possessed, and his two visitors left in the morning with much lighter pockets.