Hale, hoping the man would just go away, met the Soviet’s gaze impassively, trying not to attract any further attention. He failed. The man, lowered his head and stepped into the tent with Hale. The enemy soldier reeked of stale tobacco smoke and a hint of something else. Vodka? Are these Russians ever sober? Hale wondered.
Before he could further contemplate the state of sobriety amongst soldiers of the Soviet Union, the man fell to his knees in front of Hale. He began roughly pawing at Hale. Reaching into his pocket he found the picture of the woman that Hale had taken from the Russian Sniper.
Raising it up into the light, the man smiled and whistled softly as he gazed upon the attractive woman in the picture. He reached down to touch himself as his growing admiration for the woman’s form manifested itself. His musing was interrupted, as a shadow cut off the moonlight from somewhere behind him. Surprised, the man started to turn as a puukko was slowly drawn across his neck. Simultaneously, before the hapless guard could cry out, a hand was placed over his mouth.
Following the slight snick sound of the blade being stowed in a metal holster, another arm appeared and wrapped itself around the soldier’s torso as he struggled against it. The Russian tried desperately to break the grasp of the man that had slit his throat. This went on for about a minute as his efforts became weaker and weaker. Finally, the light left the guard’s eyes and what remained of him was quietly lowered to the ground.
Behind the guard, was a slender form dressed much like Hale in white overcoat and trousers. Recognition dawned on Hale’s features, as he looked at the man in the silvery moon light. Hale whispered, “Corporal Pekka?”
The Corporal’s well lined and weathered face crinkled as it broke into a smile, “Keep quiet, there are perhaps a half dozen Russian pigs within ear shot. Can you walk?”
“I think so.” Hale replied.
Corporal Pekka nodded in response. He paused a moment to clean the blood of his puukko using the slain guard’s coat and then set about sawing at the rope around Hale’s wrists. The snoring outside the tent continued unabated as the corporal finished up freeing Hale’s arms. With a faint snap, the ropes around his wrists loosened and fell away.
The corporal handed Hale the puukko and said, “Take care of your legs. I’m going to search this fool. Do you know where they have your weapons?”
Hale shook his head, “No. When I awoke, I was in this tent.”
Pekka sighed deeply, “It’s almost daylight, so we don’t have time to search the camp for them.”
The corporal, quietly pulled the slain guard’s rifle from the man’s back and passed it over to Hale, “Here, you can use this one.”
“Thanks.” Hale said as he looked down at the gun. It was a Mosin-Nagant carbine style weapon.
Corporal Pekka continued searching the corpse. He smiled as he pulled out a metal flask and opened the cap, “This will help keep us warm.” As he sniffed the contents inside the flask, he frowned at the odor coming from inside, “Why don’t these bastards ever get the nice vodka? Why is it always the crap?”
Hale shrugged his shoulders in response. Finishing his task, the Corporal said, “Here take these, you’ll need them.”
A faint smile flashed across Hale’s face as he took the 7.62mm bullet magazines from Pekka’s hand, three in all. “Did he have any bullets on him?” Hale asked.
“No, all he had was the vodka and these magazines.” Pekka replied.
Hale quietly slung the rifle onto his shoulder and reached down into the darkness. He pawed around the slain Soviet’s corpse until he found the man’s hands. He pried the right one open until it loosened and revealed the picture of the Russian woman. He slipped the picture into a pocket.
“What’s that?” Pekka asked.
“A picture of a woman I got from a sniper’s body.” Hale replied.
“You hoping to have a nice time with yourself later over that?” Pekka snapped, his gaze accusatory.
“No, it has an address on it. I was going to send it back to the address along with a note of how he was slain.” Hale replied.
“That’s overtly nice of you. You a boy scout or something?” As Hale opened up his mouth to answer, the Corporal held up his hand and said, “Never mind. Let’s stop wasting time and go. The horizon is already turning gray.”
Hale wordlessly nodded and quietly stood up. Corporal Pekka turned and silently slipped out of the tent. Hale, right behind him, paused for a moment as they emerged and looked up at the moon. The moon is almost full. The wolves will sing tonight after the sun sets.
Corporal Pekka turned to Hale and whispered, “There’s no time to daydream, we’ve got to get out of this camp.” He points at the ribbon of gray light on the eastern horizon and adds, “It will be daylight soon.”
“What time is it?” Hale asked.
“Nearly eight am. The Soviets made a late night of it because of you, so they are sleeping in.” Pekka replied.
Hale nodded and followed the Corporal. The pair of men very slowly and silently crept through the trees away from the camp. After about two hundred feet the grizzled veteran held up a clenched right fist. The signal to stop. He turned and looked at a large birch tree off to their left. The immense old tree had thick branches that could support a man’s weight. As Hale’s eyes followed the trunk upward, he noticed that the topmost branches of the tree, was shrouded in the golden light of the rising sun.
“This will do.” Pekka said.
“What did you have in mind?” Hale asked.
“We need to get your gear back. You’re not much good with that crappy little carbine we lifted from the Russian corpse.” Pekka said.
Hale grinned, “The bastards took my puukko. My grandfather gave me that knife, and my father gave me my rifle. What’s your plan?”
“There’s only eight of them left. Six men, the sergeant and the commissar. As soon as they start moving around, I’m going to start putting bullets in them.” Pekka replied.
“That’s going to draw them here. You won’t have long, we’re only two hundred feet or so outside of their camp.” Hale replied.
The Corporal smiled knowingly, “Indeed, that is where you come in. You’ll be down on the ground ready to ambush them with your little pea shooter there.”
Hale frowned and cast a disdainful glance at the Russian made carbine. “I won’t be able to hold them off with this piece of crap.” Hale replied.
Pekka pursed his lips as he contemplated the dilemma. Arriving at an idea, he smiled faintly and started rummaging through his pack, “Here. I was saving this for a special occasion.”
Hale took the item by its wooden handle and smiled, “Where did you get a German grenade?”
Pekka smiled as he winked at Hale, “Do you expect me to give up all my secrets on our first date?”
Hale’s mouth dropped open as he cast Pekka a look of confusion, “This isn’t a date.”
Pekka laughed, “Sure it is. It’s our first date killing Soviet swine together. Isn’t that romantic?”
Hale’s confusion deepened at the Corporal’s statement. Pekka let out another faint chuckle and said, “Never mind. I guess the joke is lost on you. Kivi seems to have drummed all the humor out of you.” He paused for a moment and pointed back at the Soviet camp, “Once I start killing them, they’ll come straight at me. Set yourself up for an ambush well forward of my position and surprise the bastards. With luck, we’ll be eating their breakfast soon.”