DAY 13 – APRIL 30th 2000
OUTSKIRTS of DOBRODZIEN, POLAND – EVENING
“This way sir” a private of the 1/116th Cav with dirty hands, wearing a dark sweater over his fatigues, opens up a metal door in front of LED and props it open with the heel of his boot.
“Thank you” says LED taking off his helmet while crossing the threshold followed by the rest of the group.
They are entering an industrial warehouse with tall metal shelving lining up the walls and some parts of heavy machineries piled up in a corner. The air smells vaguely of varnish and concrete dust. Light enters from some broken windows on the top part of the structure, where slim metal beams form the support for the curved ceiling.
The group is escorted to an opened steel door wide enough for a vehicle to get through. In front of it is a HMMWV with two soldiers working on the front left wheel. Nearby is a metal table with a vertical rack filled with tools and well-lit by a hanging lamp connected to a red wire snaking on the floor and exiting a window. A soldier is at the table, carefully dismantling what looks like an engine part.
Right next to the two soldiers knelt on the wheel is CSM ELK, wearing a wool blue shirt with long sleeves and his fatigue pants, his figure made bulkier by the fact he keeps his arms crossed on his chest. His gaze is focused on something on the other side of the HMMWV, where the mechanics are at work.
LED approaches him and offers his hand.
CSM ELK turns and somewhat relaxes his expression. He takes LED’s hand and shakes it vigorously “good to see you” he then extends a nod to the others.
“You too” says LED turning to look at the vehicle. The left side shows multiple bullets’ impacts; the front window is cracked and the one on the back door is shattered. LED steps closer and sees blood on the rear seat and window frame. He turns to ELK and simply looks at him.
“We ran into some trouble on the way back” he says pointing at the vehicle, then looking at LED “I lost a corporal”
“The Flock?” asks LED.
ELK shakes his head “nah, just… regular a**holes”
One of the soldiers working on the vehicle mutters “f**king bandits”
ELK nods towards the metal shelfs and he and LED step away from the vehicle.
“We were proceeding slow, lots of people, lots of baggage. I thought we had enough firepower to discourage any action against us”
“If people are starving enough, or desperate enough, or just greedy enough, any other consideration goes out the window quickly”
“Yeah… yeah”
“They attacked along the road?” asks LED.
ELK nods “just North of Lubliniec. We stopped briefly to meet the townspeople. There’s a Polish army unit quartered there, First Special Operations Commando. Their barracks are in the Southern part of town” ELK forces a smile “WARREN is still thinking about hearts and minds, and I guess it has something to do with your last conversation”
“From what I got she’s a smart lady, and that’s a smart move. You think we earned another conversation with her?”
“Sure, she wanted to see you when you got back, just go across the street where you left that woman you brought with you”
“Alright” says LED, then after a brief pause “hey, we’re still American soldiers, we were sent here to fight a war, but to a broader extent, we were sent here to help. Keeping in touch with our neighbors is a good first step”
ELK nods gazing at the vehicle “you know, when we were attacked, we killed five of them and scared off the rest. Then we checked the bodies, two were Americans. A man and a woman, both US Army”
LED briefly looks at the floor “I’d like to be surprised by that, maybe even horrified… but I’m not”
“Yeah, I think I should get used to it” ponders ELK.
“A word of advice?”
ELK looks at LED.
“Don’t”
The group is directed across the street to a one-story brick building surrounded by a rusty metal fence and overgrown vegetation. By the looks of it, it used to be a general store, but now it has been converted to a medical facility. Old white bed sheets have been hanged on the outside right next to the entrance, with a big red cross painted on.
The soldier on duty at the entrance recognizes them “you guys helped us out with our excursion West a couple of days ago, good to see you made it”
“Thanks private” says LED “CSM ELK told us to meet LTC WARREN here”
“Yeah, WARREN is in town, but she said to wait here for her. Go inside, past the triage area, all the way to the last room in the back”
The wooden door screeches open revealing a square room with a large window looking over the backyard of the building. The glass is traversed by cracks but overall intact, and the white wooden frame appears in good condition. In the center of the room is a metal bed frame with a mattress on top and upon it lays the woman they – mostly – saved when ambushing her captors.
The woman has her head tilted towards the window, but turns as she hears the group enter and tries to get to a more upright position.
DONNA is quick to step forward “please, stay down” she then examines her belly “fresh bandages, minimal bleeding, that’s good”
“It is painfully good” says the woman in her German accent.
LED steps to the side of the bed and put his backpack on the floor “how are you feeling ma’am?”
“Like someone dragged me around a dirt field, then dropped me, only for an elephant to step on my stomach” says MARIA while reaching for a canteen placed on a stool right next to her bed.
“Well, if that someone was Russian and the field was a forest, and the elephant was actually a bullet, then yeah, I could see that happening”
Having received DOC’s permission, the woman sits up on the bed, her back against the metal frame of the bed’s headrest. “I am assuming you have questions for me” she says adjusting the sweater’s sleeves around her thin arms.
“That scratches the surface” comments LED.
“Fair” says the woman “so I will start with this: my name is MARIA” she wiggles four fingers in the air “I believe that information should come with some… weight attached to it”
LED turns towards ALEX and the two exchange an expression-less look. ALEX puts one hand inside the flak vest, reaching the inside pocket of his jacket, and takes out the letter they received at camp Flock, passing it to LED.
The LT unfolds it and takes the four of diamonds playing card from it. “Well ma’am” he says “it does carry some weight. I’d say about four diamonds worth of it”
LED moves to the other side of the table, takes a brief look at the overgrown vegetation of the unkept backyard and the red-ish sky in its transition to the night’s darkness, then leans against the chipped wall next to the window.
“I think it’s time we have a chat, and I’ll let you start” he says, quickly adding “I insist”
“I agree” MARIA nods, then looking around “but in my line of work three is a crowd. Or should I say our line of work?”
“You got a strange way of thanking people ma’am” says NASCAR.
LED stops him by raising his hand “you can tell me now and I’ll tell them later, or we could just skip one step” he says to MARIA.
“I understand” she nods “but I would rather not be the one who breaks protocol”
ALEX turns towards DONNA and NASCAR “come on, let’s go”
“Get something to eat and some shut eye” says LED.
DONNA nods towards the door “I’ll see if I can land a hand”
The trio exits, their steps on the wooden floor getting distant.
“I need to know what branch of the family you belong to” says LED looking at the woman.
“NATO, German Militärischer Abschirmdienst, military counterintelligence service”
“You’re one of the MAD people…” observes LED.
“I know about your American nickname for us, and I trust we can leave it in the past” says the woman seriously.
LED nods “your counterpart on my side…”
“We are on the same side” interrupts MARIA “I am aware of the state of things, but can we agree we are on the same side?”
“The line between sides has gotten blurry” says LED.
“Then can we agree we want the same things?”
“As I remember, that got confused as well. To the point both our bosses wouldn’t like to see us having this chat”
“Our bosses are not here, and I think you have not seen yours in a while” says MARIA “I sure have not seen mine. They have not been where we have been and they have not seen what we have seen, so they think they can afford not to talk to each other. When one hand does not talk to the other, your actions are limited” MARIA stops briefly “the world has gone to s**t, and it takes a lot of stupidity to think one can fix it with one hand. So can we at least agree that we would like to do something about it?”
LED ponders while looking at the floor, then raises his eyes “well, that is definitely a good place to start”
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE – DIA and CIA [click to expand]
The DIA became the prominent intelligence agency in Europe after communications with Washington ceased and the chain of command fell outside of civilian control. With the military fully in charge of every aspect of the war, it makes sense that DIA now informs and shapes all decisions. The agency believes the war can still be won and blame the failure of the spring offensive on the CIA’s incorrect intel. It now wants to restore organization and chain of command and resume the offensive that – in their predictions – can finally defeat the Russian forces in Europe.
On the other hand, the CIA plays a more cautious game, both because of its weaker connection and influence on the military leadership, and because of its usually more prudent approach. The agency is now focused on gathering intelligence and occasionally running counter-intelligence operations, needing a base of knowledge before deciding how to act on a broader scale. The CIA anticipated the war to go much like it did, and preserved forces and capabilities accordingly.
LED allegiance is to the CIA, thus his suspicion about MARIA, who belongs to the German military counterintelligence, a counterpart of the DIA in Europe.
FINAL COMMENTS
A chance of sitting down and talk, finally. It’s about time the players get a peek of what this lady knows; at least to the extent she’s willing to share.
She was willing to present her credential, albeit to LED alone, and the two had an unspoken understanding: they each recognize they have operated in the same grey areas, at least before the war and at the beginning of it. As the situation at the front – and elsewhere – grew more dire, they had to operate in quasi-total independence, though with limited resources and possibilities.
LED and MARIA are similar in that sense, and I thought they would have not jumped into sharing intel without each trying to get a sense of the other first. That brought me to the friction in their interaction, and its final conclusion: situation is dire, and they both don’t like it, but they both would like to do something about it.
When, where and how to act… those are up for discussion.