Jumping out of the frying pan into the coals

The villagers began shouting and trying to hide behind the pews and altar as the church door began to open. Their startle was capital when a battered Malcolm Oliver was thrown inside the building, just then Ruslan and Constance, who had decided to free the civilians, entered, while Gaile took care of his brother. Ruslan raised the shotgun over his head as a gesture of peace. Some of the occupants of the church relaxed, others however looked clearly frightened by the irruption of that giant armed to the teeth. When Connie saw the mayor she headed straight for him, with Ruslan following in her footsteps. Several men got up and stood in their way.

- Let us through, please, - Connie said politely. - We need to speak to your mayor.

The men looked at her as if they had not understood her words.

"They may not speak Albian," Ruslan thought.

But a couple of seconds later they stepped aside to let them pass. The mayor stood next to his daughter and his wife, while another man, who appeared to be a doctor was trying to contain the bleeding from the gunshot wound in the young woman's leg.

- How is your daughter? - Constance asked the elderly leader.

- How do you think she is? She has been shot. All to save that man - the mayor said in Albian, while his wife shouted angrily in Galian.

- Believe me, we are really sorry... - Connie began.

- Don't you dare to apologize as if it were nothing, - the mayor replied.

Connie was shocked by the hateful look the men and women of the town were giving them. Ruslan stepped forward.

- The men who attacked you have been shot down and their leader is under arrest and will be tried with the utmost severity in a martial court, - Ruslan said in perfect Galian, raising his voice to address everyone present. - The man you saved was investigating them for evidence. We thank you for your decision to save him even though he was an Albion soldier.

The mayor and everyone present looked at the handcuffed Oliver trying to crawl on the ground, his face full of cuts and deformed by Ruslan's blow. Then they shifted their gaze to that albino giant who spoke to them in his own native tongue. The mayor left his daughter in his wife's arms and stood up to address Ruslan, forcing him to look up.

- Do you give us your word that this man will stand trial? - the old man asked.

- You have my word, - Ruslan answered firmly. - He will be tried and with our testimonies and yours, he will surely be condemned.

- Who are you? You are not wearing a military uniform... - the mayor asked.

- My name is Ruslan Drake, and I'm not military, but I was, so I find the behaviour of this scum dishonourable, - he said, kicking Oliver. - I will not let him get away with this, I guarantee it.

The civilians in the church relaxed at the confidence Ruslan's words exuded.

- I didn't know you spoke Galian, - Connie said quietly to Ruslan.

- My mother wanted me to learn new languages - Ruslan answered again in Albian.

- My name is Philipe Bastien - the mayor said addressing Ruslan and Constance. - My wife's name is Marie and our daughter Jean, the man who is taking care of her is the village doctor, Claude Morell.

- I am Constance Perry - Connie said, holding out her hand, which the mayor shook.

- If you have a doctor, it would be better to move the wounded to his house so that he has the necessary equipment to treat them - Ruslan said. - There is a stretcher in the truck, we can move them in shifts, besides, we have three wounded among us.

- Say four, - Connie pointed out and gave him a pat on the back that made Ruslan doubled over in pain.

- We'll take care of the most seriously wounded first, - Ruslan said, pulling himself together. - In the meantime, do you have a place where we can lock this guy up, so he won't give us any trouble?

- We'll put him in the doctor's cellar, that way you'll keep an eye on him - the mayor answered, and the doctor nodded his head.

It took them a while to move all the wounded to the doctor's house. It was precisely the one where Gaile and his brother Gregory were. Gaile had helped his brother back to the cot, and was sitting on the edge beside him, holding his hand in hers. Connie offered to help Dr. Morell with the wounded of the village, while Ruslan accompanied Gaile.

- Who is this giant? - Greg Mackintosh asked in a whisper.

- He is Ruslan Drake; he came to help me find you - Gaile answered looking at Ruslan gratefully.

- It is a great pleasure Major Mackintosh - Ruslan said.

- Greg, please, given the situation, I think we have passed the time of formalities - Gregory said and started coughing.

- I'll go get the doctor - Ruslan said to Gaile, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. - I'll be right back.

Gaile nodded and turned his attention back to his brother, as Ruslan headed for the next room, where the other wounded had been set up. Morell was finishing stitching up Jean Bastien's bullet wound, the other two wounded villagers were resting with their spouses holding their hands, they were out of danger.

- Doctor, how is she? - Ruslan asked.

- Well, luckily the bullet entered and exited cleanly without touching any important arteries or veins. Only muscle damage - said the doctor in Albian and looking at Jean he added in Galian. - You will only have to rest for a few weeks for the wound to close completely, after I finish sewing the stitches.

- Merci, Claude - said young Jean in Galian.

- When you're done, could you take a look at the wounded man in the next room? - Ruslan asked politely. - He might have reopened his wound.

- Sure, I'll take care of him and then you and your friends. After all, you have protected us.

- Thank you, doctor, - Ruslan said, and left the room to return to Gaile.

A few minutes later Morell was already checking Gregory's wounds under Gaile's shocked gaze.

- Yes, the wound in his abdomen has reopened, I will clean it and sew it up again.

- Doctor, why can't he walk? - Gaile asked fearfully.

- He was shot with a rifle at point-blank range, the exit wound is the one in his back - the doctor explained. - The bullet fractured a lumbar vertebra, severing the spinal cord. He will not be able to use his legs again, he is paralyzed from the waist down.

Gaile began to cry and tremble. Ruslan put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. Dr. Morell finished treating Gregory, who was looking better, and turned to Gaile, Connie and Ruslan.

- Well, it's your turn for examination.

- Start with Gaile and Connie, doctor, - Ruslan said. - I can wait.

- Well, we'll start by looking at that cut on your face, - Morell said to Gaile.

Gaile's cut required 35 stitches to close. The doctor warned her what Ruslan already knew, she would be left with a pretty bad scar due to the depth of the cut, but she played it down.

The doctor then went on to treat Connie and determined that she had two broken ribs and multiple bruises, he bandaged her torso tightly below the chest, to prevent the broken ribs from giving her problems.

When it was Ruslan's turn, the big guy took off his coat and shirt, grunting from discomfort. When Gaile, Connie and Morell saw his naked torso they were stunned. On his abdomen, he had a bruise the size of a soccer ball. His back was an amalgam of colours ranging from reddish purple, to greenish yellow.

- But what could have done this? - Morell asked in confusion.

- The coat we're wearing is bulletproof, doctor, but it doesn't reduce the force of the impact.

- Yes, but your back is completely crushed, if your muscles had not been so developed, your bones and spine would have been shattered, - the doctor replied.

- That's what you get when you get shot by more than 50 projectiles with a machine gun, Ruslan said, playing it down. - It's an occupational hazard.

- If your mother finds out... - Connie began.

- My mother doesn't need to know, - Ruslan replied to his friend, with a clear warning in his eye.

The doctor put cold compresses on his back to reduce the bruising. And he stared at his prosthetic arm in admiration.

- Magnificent work, - Morell said. - I've never seen an Autolimb prosthesis from Drake Industries before, it's impressive.

- Thank you, doctor, I will tell my father that you like his work.

The doctor smiled and instructed Gaile and Connie to change the compresses each time they dried, soaking them again in cold water, to reduce the swelling in Ruslan's back, and turning to him he instructed him to rest for at least two hours with his back cooled.

Gaile stood next to his brother Greg holding his hand. Ruslan grabbed a chair and sat down next to her, straddling the chair, resting his arms on the back of the chair to leave his back free.

- So how did they convince you to come, Ruslan? - Gregory asked from the bunk.

- It was your sister doing, she won't take no for an answer.

- Yes, I know that well, - Greg said.

- By the way, McGregor didn't tell us who you were investigating - Ruslan commented. - He must be someone important enough to have sent people to bump you off.

Gregory made a circumspect gesture.

- It's a colonel, Bruce Hightower. He's in command of the search and rescue operations, but he takes advantage of his position to loot the towns his men pass through. He's gathered all the scum of the Army into his unit, and they're spreading terror all over Galia, making believe they're rescuing wounded soldiers, when the opposite is true.

- What do you mean by that?

- Their orders to search for wounded soldiers or stragglers give them the authority to search the villages. But they take advantage of their authority to loot the property of the inhabitants of those villages, there have even been cases of deaths and rapes. They should hang them all.

Connie entered the room. Her serious countenance, something unbecoming of her, made Ruslan worry.

- We're in trouble - Constance said evenly. - You need to hear what Oliver just told us.

Connie then left the room, followed by Ruslan and Gaile. They had Malcolm Oliver in the living room of the house, apparently, they had taken him out of the cellar because he kept shouting and threatening.

- We were going to gag him to stop him from being a nuisance, - Connie explained. - When he spit it out.

- What? - Ruslan asked.

- He's got backup, - she replied.

Oliver turned to Ruslan, his eyes wild and bloodshot, his grin crazed, toothless and bloody.

- You're all going to die, Drake! - Oliver shouted angrily. - There won't be anyone left alive in this shitty little town!

- What do you mean? - Ruslan said threateningly.

- My entire unit is on its way here, - Oliver said as he cackled like a madman. - We were supposed to meet them hours ago. Not hearing from us, our colonel will come for Mackintosh himself, and he'll bring all of my comrades with him.

- How many? - Gaile asked.

Oliver spat blood on the ground and put on a sadistic smile. Ruslan came up to him and punched him in the face with his left hand. Oliver's head almost turned inside out, when he looked forward again, his nose was broken and bleeding.

- She asked you how many, scum - Ruslan said grabbing him by the scruff of the neck with his left hand and threatening him with his right fist.

- Two hundred men! - a terrified Oliver shouted without taking his eyes off Ruslan's burnished steel fist.

- Gag this rat and send him back to the cellar, - Ruslan said to the townsmen in Galian.

Ruslan turned to the mayor, who was as pale as paper.

- We need to send a message to Albion headquarters on the Normandy coast - Ruslan said. - We will stay to defend the town; can you send someone to deliver the message for us?

- Yes, but they won't let anyone through... - the mayor began.

- They will let them pass if you show them this, - Ruslan interrupted him, handing him his letter of authorization from the military police. - Send someone in the truck outside to show this letter and deliver the message only to the highest-ranking officer of the barracks.

- What message should they deliver? - the mayor asked.

Shortly thereafter the truck was driving away in the direction of the coast, with two men inside. In the meantime, the mayor had gathered the rest of the inhabitants and was standing next to Ruslan explaining the situation to them.

- We need all the weapons and ammunition in the village, and all those who know how to shoot - explained Ruslan in Galian, raising his voice. - We must also set up barricades at the entrance and exit of the village, to prevent them from surrounding us, for that we will need vehicles, wagons, logs. Everything we can get. Those who cannot fight will have to hide in the cellars of the houses.

- Why should we listen to you? - someone from the crowd shouted. - They only want you and the wounded soldier! If we hand you over...!

- They'll kill you anyway! - Ruslan interrupted. - You know too much; you'd only be loose ends for them!

- My friends! - the mayor said. - This man and his companions have fought for us, they have bled for us! And they are ready to do it again! It's our town, we must defend it! But we can't do it alone!

The whole crowd turned to Philipe Bastien. A chorus of shouts gathered momentum.

- Let's do it!

- Let's defend our home!

- For our families!

- We will fight!

Philipe turned to Ruslan.

- Tell us what to do, Ruslan.

Ruslan nodded and set about organizing the defence of Carentan.

An hour later they had formed two barricades with several wagons and a couple of pickup trucks at both ends of the road through the village. Every man and woman who knew how to shoot a gun had a rifle, shotgun or revolver in their hands. All the ammunition they had was being distributed.

Gaile had decided to station himself in the church steeple with his precision rifle, and Constance, who had retrieved his lever-action rifle was busy forming the partisans into sections.

Ruslan was standing next to Philipe, checking one of the barricades, when a loud whistle sounded from the bell tower. Ruslan, who had removed his eye patch, looked up at the improvised watchtower using the zoom of his right eye Autolimb. Gaile was signalling, troops were arriving from the west, right by the barricade Ruslan was at.

According to Gaile's signals they were less than one mile away, that meant they would be there in 15 minutes or less. Ruslan looked at Philipe and nodded his head. The mayor turned to his fellow citizens.

- Everyone to your posts! - he shouted.

Ruslan took his place at the west barricade, Constance suddenly appeared at his side, carrying her rifle.

- This brings back memories, - she said.

- Good or bad? - Ruslan asked his friend.

- Some good, some bad, a bit of both - she replied with a lopsided smile and winked at him.

Soon the engines of the troop transport trucks could be heard. When they were finally in sight, Ruslan mumbled a profanity under his breath. A single-seat light tank accompanied the transports.

- I seem to attract armoured vehicles, - he said jokingly.

- Well, you could attract something less troublesome - Constance replied.

- Tell me about it.

The troops began to descend from the transports, while the tank moved forward. The one who looked like the commanding officer advanced with two of his men, separating from the rest. They seemed to want to parley. He moved closer to the barricade until he was about 50 meters away.

- Listen people! His Majesty's Army of Albion demands your unconditional surrender. Surrender our men and lay down your arms - the officer shouted.

Ruslan jumped over the barricade, and standing between the army and the people, confronted them with his eyes.

- This town is under the protection of the Albion Military Police - Ruslan said raising his voice. - Colonel Hightower and his men are urged to surrender, lay down their arms and remain under arrest until they are handed over to the MP in London. In return they are guaranteed a fair trial under military law.

Hightower and his lackeys burst out laughing. Bruce Hightower was a wiry man, of medium height, with a curly moustache and pompous gesture typical of a minor nobleman. Soon the colonel stood upright again and addressed Ruslan in a contemptuous tone.

- Surrender? And why should we?

- To survive. If you do not surrender, I am authorized to stop you using any means at my disposal. Including lethal force.

- And who the hell are you? - Bruce Hightower asked.

- Ruslan Drake, retired major, authorized by Colonel McGregor of the military police to act on his behalf.

A small chorus of uncertainty began to rise behind Hightower's back, as he turned to see what the commotion was about, he saw many of his men flinching, some had even dropped their weapons and raised their hands in the air.

- What are you fools doing? - Hightower howled angrily.

- Colonel, it's Ruslan Drake, the "Immortal of the Desert, - one of the soldiers said.

- It's true, they say that, although a tank tore his arm off, he survived for several days across the desert, - another said.

- I've seen his shooting records at the academy, no one has even come close to him in 9 years, - another said, trembling with panic.

Hightower turned back to Ruslan, who looked at him with disdain. The colonel drew his revolver and pointing it at those who had spoken from among his men, pulled the trigger. The three men fell dead, one of them drowning, between gurgles, in his own blood.

- Those who surrender will be executed as traitors - the colonel's warning shout caused all those who had thrown down their weapons to pick them up.

Looking back at Ruslan, Hightower pointed his revolver at him.

- You should not have left your parapet, - he said, and fired.

Ruslan didn't even move when the bullet slammed into his bulletproof coat. The bullet hit, stopped against the leather of the coat, deforming it, but not passing through it, and fell bouncing to the ground. Ruslan held back a grunt of pain without even blinking; to everyone's eyes it was as if the bullet had not even grazed him. All of Hightower's men instinctively stepped back. Hightower, still not believing what had just happened gestured towards the tank, which began to move its small turret to aim at Ruslan. Ruslan dodged the shot by moving out of the gun's path before it opened fire. The impact raised a cloud of dust, and a large amount of mud, still wet, rained down everywhere. From the barricade Connie ordered to open fire, the bullets tinkling as they slammed into the tank armour and the vehicles of the assailants, who ran for cover behind the trucks.

The soldier to Hightower's right fell with a hole between his eyes, at the same time, in the church steeple, Gaile was opening and closing the bolt of his rifle to insert another bullet into the chamber. A shadow began to appear in the cloud of dust, from the edge of the cloud emerged a huge revolver held by a steely fist, which fired at the light tank, opening a 20 cm hole in the front and rear armour of the turret, splitting in half the driver and gunner inside.

Ruslan emerged from the cloud of dust and gunpowder smoke, and fired the Dullahan again, piercing the engine block of one of the transports and killing two more Hightower men by driving the same bullet through them both. Ruslan emptied his two remaining chambers killing another 5 enemy soldiers, holstered the revolver, and wielding in each hand one of the semi-automatic pistols he kept under his coat, began emptying the magazines against the enemy as he walked back toward the barricade. When his back was against the parapet, he holstered his weapons and jumped back into cover. An enemy tried to shoot him in the back, but Connie took him down with his rifle, while covering his friend.

Gaile fired again from her watchtower and another Hightower footman fell down. The men and women of the village opened fire in desperation, unloading their weapons and expending ammunition by the bushel. Ruslan reloaded his revolver, he had to insert each bullet, one by one, through the side porthole of the gun's barrel, so it took him a few seconds to load all four chambers. As soon as he finished with the revolver, he changed the magazines of his pistols, which had been left empty.

Constance sharpened her aim, she already had five casualties before she had to reload her rifle for the first time. The enemy returned fire from behind their vehicles, several villagers ended up with bullet wounds, but Dr. Morell treated them directly behind the barricade, the most serious were evacuated home with the help of non-combatants who had volunteered.

The numerical difference between Hightower's soldiers, at least 150 were still alive, played against the town of Carentan, where they only had 30 defenders, 6 of whom were wounded. Suddenly two enemy soldiers came out from behind the trucks with a long steel pipe, they were aiming at the bell tower. Ruslan turned and shouted to warn Gaile.

- Out of the bell tower!!! Bazooka!!!!! - Ruslan shouted.

Gaile jumped just in time from the bell tower, which burst into splinters and flames behind her, throwing her against the sloping roof of the church. The impact knocked the breath out of her, and the slope of the wooden roof, still wet from the storm, sent her sliding over the edge. Ruslan had run to her as soon as he saw her jump, so he arrived just in time. Gaile landed in Ruslan's arms, who crouched down to absorb the impact of the fall.

- We have to stop meeting like this - he said mockingly.

- Next time I'll let you choose the place - she replied.

Connie shot down the bazooka soldiers with two accurate shots. Ruslan lowered Gaile to the ground. They were returning to the north barricade, when shots and shouts were heard from the second barricade at the other end of the village. Their adversaries had finally decided to try to surround them. Connie signalled them to come to the aid of the south barricade, Gaile and Ruslan started to run there as the first enemy soldiers began to jump the parapet.

Gaile threw his right knee to the ground and bringing his rifle to his shoulder, took aim and began to open fire on the invaders. Ruslan continued running towards the barricade, as he ran, he drew both pistols, and when he was less than 20 meters away, he began firing. His aim was unbeatable that day, three of the assailants ended up with their brains scattered on the ground and the vehicles that served as a mobile wall.

Suddenly, one of the men in the village was hit by an enemy shot, the woman next to him turned to him screaming in panic, while the man, who was apparently her husband howled writhing in pain on the ground. Suddenly Ruslan was paralyzed.

...

The dust and smoke in the air, the screams of terror and pain of his men, the mechanical noise of heavy armor. He was back in the scorching desert.

- Help, Captain Drake!!!!!

- What do we do, Captain Drake?!!!!!

He heard the voices of his fallen men, he noticed an impact on his right side, a rifle bullet against his coat, but he felt as if his arm was torn off again.

...

Ruslan fell to his knees, his pistols still in his hands, languid against his sides. An enemy soldier put the barrel of his rifle in front of his face, but he did not see the rifle, but a giant blade inexorably approaching his face. A detonation behind him brought him out of his reverie. The soldier threatening him was slumped on the ground. Gaile was at his side, shaking him.

- Ruslan!!! Ruslan are you all, right?! - Gaile shouted in desperation.

Ruslan turned to her, still looking a little lost. Suddenly he remembered where he was and what was happening.

- I'm fine - he shouted above the detonations to reassure his friend.

She stood up and reloaded both pistols. There were no more raiders on that side of town, ten Albion soldiers lay dead near or on the barricade.

- Let's go back - said Ruslan turning around and running back to the barricade defended by Connie and Mayor Bastien.

Barely ten minutes had passed since the beginning of the scuffle and already there were 16 wounded among the defenders and more than 70 casualties among the attackers.

Connie fell from the barricade, a bullet had grazed her head and she was somewhat dazed, Ruslan caught her before she fell again as she staggered when she tried to get up. Morell arrived almost immediately and escorted her to a makeshift field hospital, to bandage her head and let her recover, a short time, from the shock. Ruslan took his place beside Bastien and picking up his shotgun began firing at will at the enemy soldiers, who had begun a bayonet charge in an attempt to jump the barricade. The enemies were being blown to pieces by Ruslan's buckshot shells, Gaile was concentrating on shooting down the soldiers who were still hiding behind the trucks, believing they were safe.

Suddenly a bullet hit Bastien's shoulder, knocking him down. An enemy sergeant was preparing a grenade, but before throwing it Ruslan shot him with his shotgun, tearing off his hand along with the grenade, which fell under one of the trucks, exploding and taking with it several vehicles and at least another 30 enemy soldiers. They were managing to decimate them, but their adversaries were not letting up, and there were still more than 80 left. Connie was returning just as Bastien fell from the barricade, so she helped him get to Dr. Morell, and then returned to take her place on the parapet, she had no ammunition left for her rifle, so she was firing with her pistol, in bursts. They were in a desperate situation.

Ruslan made a decision. He jumped the barricade and headed for the fallen bazooka. He advanced while emptying the magazine of one of his pistols and while reloading it with one hand, he emptied the magazine of the second one to give himself cover fire. When he managed to reach the bazooka, he picked it up and aimed it at the truck in the centre of the enemy formation. Several soldiers, seeing clearly his intentions fired at him, one bullet grazed his face, opening a new breach on the right side of his face, which crossed perpendicularly with his old scar; another bullet tore out several strands of his hair, blowing off his hat and throwing him to the ground. Another projectile hit the left sleeve of his coat, but the fourth hit him squarely in his bare left side at waist level, passing cleanly through him, fortunately not hitting any vital organs. Ruslan pulled the trigger of the bazooka, and the mortar shell flew against the central vehicle of the Albian formation. The explosion of the truck's fuel tank set off a chain reaction that began to cause the adjacent trucks to explode, and in turn the next closest ones, taking with them the enemies behind them. Soon there were barely twenty enemies in fighting condition left. Colonel Hightower could not believe his eyes, those rednecks and those three scumbags had managed to wipe out his entire company in just 30 minutes of combat. The soldiers who were still standing, when they saw Ruslan walking among the burning vehicles approaching them, threw their weapons to the ground and knelt down to surrender. Hightower tried to make a run for it, but a precisely fired bullet pierced his calf, fracturing his tibia and knocking him to the ground. Gaile emptied the chamber of his rifle, sighing with relief. The traumatic experience was over. They had won.