Sentinel of Liberty – Rat Lines Pt 2/4
TITLE: Rat Lines Pt. 2/4
RATING: NC-17
SUMMARY: Prior to Dr. Heinrich Zemo’s plan to turn the tide of the war Steve Rogers and James Barnes witness the atrocities the Nazi party has perpetrated against humanity.
WORDS: 1204
NOTES: Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America finds himself face to face with a heinous war criminal of W.W. II in current times. This is the story of the Sentinel of Liberty dealing out much earned justice.
February 11, 1945.
“Target Sighted.” Bucky said into the cold darkness.
Under the cover of night they had parachuted into Germany. Another four hours march through the snow covered hills brought them to their destination. But nothing had prepared them for what they would find.
Captain America stood waist deep in the snow drift by the copse of cedars surrounded by an elite team of commandos. He lowered his binoculars and waited patiently. Camouflaged in the snow with him Sergeant Fury, his Howling Commandos, and Bucky Barnes together they represent America’s undying spirit.
Under the patriots cowl was Steve Rogers. It had been 5 years since Project: Rebirth. He is a young man. His adaption to the super soldier serum had exceeded their expectations. At times he found the burden of being the symbol of America daunting. Luckily he did not bear the burden alone.
He knew their casualty numbers, had calculated the odds of their campaigns. The future appeared bleak. Their losses have been high, and resources were getting low. But the German military were now reeling from Operation Thunderclap and had retreated across the River Oder. The end of the war was in sight. They could be standing in Berlin by summer.
The prisoner train whistled shrilly, shooting a huge plume of white smoke into the crystal blue sky. The trailing smoke pointed like an incriminating finger as the engine inched its way across the horizon heading west. As it pulled into Dresden, it blanketed the stop like a smothering pillow.
Dresden is the 7th largest city in Germany. It was bitter cold. Waste deep in snow cold. It is the coldest place in Germany and undamaged by the war. The city sat nestled between the snowy embrace of the valley and the River Elbe. Among the baroque style buildings lay hundreds of factories servicing the German wartime engine.
Steve knew three days from now nothing would remain. Here are the factories for poison gas, anti-aircraft, and the German Militaries administrative staff responsible for continuing their war efforts. Most importantly though is Baron Strucker, and a trainload of captured freedom fighters.
“Alright you yahoos listen up!” Sergeant Fury barked.
Fury chewed on his cigar as he unfolded a map of the city. He pointed to a warehouse and circled it with a grease pencil. He then drew two assault paths marked Alpha and Bravo with multiple waypoints.
“Team Alpha, will be Ralston, Manelli, Pinkerton and myself. Team Bravo, will be Cap, Barnes, Dugan, and Jones.” Nick took his cigar and pointed at the waypoints.
“This is where they will likely post guards, any questions?” Nick looked into the eyes of his teammates and saw they were ready. They stowed their gear, double checked their camouflage gear and began wading their way through the snow to Dresden. Two hours later they split up outside the city.
Steve unstrapped his bullet-proof badge shaped shield from his back. He buckled the shield to his left arm. The press team called his first shield the star-spangled badge of courage. His second shield he simply called Justice. He checked the clip for his M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, tapping it on his helmet before inserting cartridge. When he saw his team was ready they entered the city still under the cover of night.
Bucky grimaced. Steve could tell he was scared. Bucky took each step as deliberately as the previous. There was nothing tentative, his mind was set. He flipped the safety off, and nodded briskly at Steve.
James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes had simply wanted to belong. When his father passed away, the military had taken the 16 year old and trained him extensively in covert operations. It seemed the title of sidekick included being a young protégé. He wasn’t that much younger than Steve. Bucky had never taken the mascot title seriously. He was a soldier not a child.
Like everyone else during this crazy time, he wanted to do his part. The army was the only family he had. It was where he wanted to be.
Bucky is an expert ranked marksman. His demolition, tracking and survival expertise make him a lethal combination. He is a good man. The army had made him a lethal soldier. At times Steve feared he was too good.
Blind patriotism is dangerous, it cuts both ways. It breeds bigotry. Differentiating because of race, color, creed, sex or religion always leads to the downfall of civilization. Segregating by haves and have not’s leaves no room for growth and society begins to turn on itself.
They reached the first waypoint. The German soldiers were young. They were too young, nothing but kids. They had the uniforms and weapons of soldiers. They were unprepared. They were completely taken aback when the Sentinel of Liberty and his trusty sidekick stormed them. Several waypoints and 15 soldiers later the target was in sight.
They had quietly and effectively neutralized all threats to their objective. Steve looked up into the night sky and saw the clouds approaching the moon. He held his hand up and signaled his team to halt. He waited patiently for the cloud cover to block the moon light. Their shadows disappeared as they were enveloped by the darkness.
In the darkness freedom charged. They sprinted towards the doors. The crunch of their boots in the snow sounded like a freight train chugging menacingly with quick succession. Two soldiers stood at the entrance of the warehouse. Their faces turned quizzical at the oddness of the sounds intruding in the night.
Captain America used the butt of his semi-automatic weapon, rendering the first soldier unconscious. The second soldier reached for his Luger. Bucky grabbed the guard’s wrists preventing the weapon from being aimed and head butted with deadly accuracy. The guard slumped down next to his friend, dead to the world.
Captain America and Bucky entered the warehouse. Dugan and Jones pulled the soldiers prostrate bodies inside. With the entrance secure, they investigated their surroundings. Steve knew by this time, Nick and his unit would have secured their escape route and the exit from the warehouse.
Bucky looked at Steve and frowned. “That was too easy. This place should be guarded better.”
“I agree” they all said in unison. Something wasn’t right and they all knew it.
Steve inspected the interior of the warehouse. The loading cranes attached to the ceiling appeared to be well used but he saw no signs of prisoners. This warehouse was not for prisoner containment.
The floor was occupied by row upon row of metal cabinets. There were no prisoners. However there were several machines with IBM logos and miscellaneous paper cards.
Dugan picked a card off the desk. It had holes punched into it. Steve registered the portent of the cards. They were tabulation cards used for collecting data. He opened a cabinet door, sliding the drawer out. He calculated the number of columns and rows. Unwillingly he estimated 11 million cards. It was a number he did not need to know.
“We aren’t going to find the prisoners are we?” Bucky asked.
Steve lowered his head, seemingly in defeat. He motioned for them to round up and head for the exit. Their intelligence had been wrong.
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