The guard, turned toward the voice and said, “Kholodno.”
Hale heard a chuckle, “Da, bodrstvovat.”
The guard replied, “Da ser.”
Satisfied, the second man, probably a sergeant, moved away. Hale used the opportunity to take advantage of the noise the man was making. Under the cover of the loud crunching noise the man’s boots made, he moved forward toward the shivering guard. Incredibly the man pulled out a cigarette and lit it using a match.
The glow of that cigarette is silhouetting his face! Hale thought gleefully. What luck! I picked an idiot to sneak up on.
The cigarette brightened as the guard took a long pull on it. He exhaled in satisfaction. The combination of warm air and nicotine rushing through his blood stream, combined to give him a warming sensation. As Hale crept forward, the guard stamped his legs on the ground several times to prevent them from going numbing.
The Soviet paused for a moment and slowly looked around. Satisfied that nothing was amiss, he took another long pull on the cigarette. He relished the warm smoke that filled his lungs. It was the second to last feeling he ever had. As he exhaled the smoke into the frigid night air, creating a giant cloud, Hale’s hand covered his mouth. A second later, the sharp blade of the Finnish Sniper’s pukko blade bit deeply into the flesh of the guard’s neck.
Hale held the struggling figure until he stopped moving. Feeling the life leave the body of the young soldier, he slowly lowered the corpse to the ground. As he did so, the pain in his right shoulder intensified causing him to grimace. He bit his lower lip to stifle the urge to cry out.
As Hale started to search the body of his victim, he heard the tell-tale crunching of Maki’s approach. Ignoring it, he checked the man’s pockets. He found a flare gun in a holster attached to the man’s belt. There was no vodka, grenades or alcohol of any kind. Turning to Maki, he said, “Odd, usually these fuckers have vodka on them.”
“If you were in charge of the guards, in enemy territory, would you want them to have access to alcohol why they stood guard?” The Lieutenant asked.
“No, I wouldn’t. I guess these bastards are starting to wise up.” Hale replied.
“Or they are getting a little less overconfident. Perhaps the efforts of our little group of snipers is beginning to have an effect on their morale.” Maki said.
Hale held up a hand to silence Maki. In the silence, Hale could hear the sound of crunching boots nearby. He held up his index finger to his lips and made eye contact with Maki. Be quiet. He thought at Maki hoping the Lieutenant could understand his meaning.
The sound crunching snow under booted feet intensified as whoever it was, seemed to be walking right towards them. Maki laid on the ground next to the body of the guard, afraid to make the slightest move. The Russian paused about fifteen feet away and said, “Gregory?”
Maki’s mind raced, Should I respond?
The Lieutenant turned to whisper in Hale’s ear. The younger man had vanished. What the?
Maki’s thoughts were interrupted when he saw a figure suddenly appear behind the Soviet. The Sergeant, seeing the shadows move behind him, whirled around while he grabbed at a whistle hanging around his neck with his left hand and raised it toward his lips.
It was the last thing he ever did, as Hale’s blade slammed into the side of his neck severing his jugular vein. Before Hale could cover his mouth up, the man took a step back and grabbed his neck. He opened his mouth to scream, but all that came out was a wet gurgle as blood erupted from his mouth like a fountain. The man again tried to cry out, but his mouth filled with blood as he sank to his knees. A few moments later he fell forward and drowned in his own blood.
The young Finn grabbed the dying man’s shoulder’s and gently lowered the cooling corpse to the ground. “That was close.” The familiar voice of Maki whispered.
Hale nodded in acknowledgment and began rifling through his second victim’s pockets. This time he found what he was looking for. Smiling he pulled a metal flash from the dead Sergeant’s inner coat pocket, “For later.” He whispered.
The Lieutenant grinned, and replied in a whisper, “As long as you’re sharing.”
Hale raised a finger and placed it on Maki’s lips. Maki got the message and nodded. Hale stood still and listened for several minutes. He heard no further sound beyond the constant thrum of the Russian’s engines. Turning back to Maki he whispered, “We’re inside their outer picket perimeter. I don’t know if there is another line of guards or not. I’m going to move forward and find out. Stay about fifty feet behind me and watch for my signal. If I hold up a clenched fist, stop moving. If I hold up an open palm, get ready to help me. Got it?”
Maki smiled and said, “Yes sir.”
Hale returned the smile, “Good. With luck these bastards are being sloppy and there are no more guards between us and the vehicles.”
Hale pulled the olive drab green overcoat off the dead Sergeant and put it on. He grimaced at the shooting pain in his right shoulder as he put his arm through the right coat sleeve. He then stood and silently crept toward the sound of the engines. Maki continued laying on the ground next to the corpse of the unlucky man, and covered Hale’s advance with his PPD 34.
Hale paused to listen. He could see the faint outline of vehicles, perhaps two hundred feet ahead in the flickering light from a cluster of camp fires next to the road. The sound of the engines was making it difficult to hear anything else.
Hale continued to cautiously advance toward the Soviet column on the road. As he drew within a hundred feet, he could see the faint outline of men sleeping inside the warm cabs of the trucks. As he drew closer, the sounds that men make while sleeping filled his ears, The squads of soldiers that ride in the back of the trucks set up camp beside them. They must have built campfires to stay warm enough to sleep. Hale thought.
He laid down on his chest and observed the scene for several minutes. Satisfied that no one was moving about, he resumed his slow and silent advance towards his slumbering enemies. He was about twenty feet from a truck sitting on the road when he came upon the edge of a campsite. He turned and looked in the direction of Maki and help up an open palm.
Turning back to his objective, Hale crept forward until he was standing over a group of Russian soldiers. Attempting to stay warm they were practically sleeping in the fire. The uneven flickering light of the camp fires illuminated many of their faces and cast shadows around them. Like all of the Russians Hale had encountered, they wore olive drab green uniforms, and greatcoats. Each had a matching olive drab green hat with a red star pulled down over their head.
Hale turned and looked to see if anyone or anything was moving nearby. The only movement his eyes detected were the dancing shadows on the nearby tree line. The Finnish sniper looked down and saw the face of a young man. He looks so innocent in slumber. He took a deep breath and sighed deeply. It’s a lot easier to kill them at a distance. You can’t really see them as people.
Inner turmoil raged within Hale as he fought the feeling in his heart that couldn’t bring itself to murder a defenseless and innocent young man. Then he thought about his family and all the other Finns whose farms the Soviets were here to steal. Images of family’s fleeing their homes with a few hastily gathered possessions filled his mind.
His mind drifted into darkness as it was filled with visions of Russians raping the women of Finland. and casting their babies into flames. Images of Nea’s legs being pushed apart, and tears running down her face. Then came the inevitable screams. Hale shuddered at the scenes that swirled through his mind. Clenching his teeth, he pushed the imaginings away and filled the void with a single feeling, rage.