[MillietheWarrior]

"From here on out, colonel, if we can push them back, they'll be on the defensive. It'll still be many days, if not months, before you can capture Berlin, or hell, Germany itself. But you will capture it. And it may not be you, or your division, or anyone who is fighting here today. But I can assure you, that the first solider in Berlin will be American."

---

M.J sat alone, booted feet propping her small frame up as she hovered over the snow in a precariously awkward position. But it seemed that she was comfortable, for her eyes were shut, and her head was leaned up again the tree she sat beside.

It had only been a few short days since she had been captured by the Americans, and she certainly couldn't be happier.

For the first time in months, she had a chance to really rest. No more sleeping with one eye open, or jumping up at every little sound. She felt secure behind the American lines, she felt like she was home.

---

(Continuation of Chapter 1)

[MillietheWarrior]

Footsteps alerted her to the approach of an unknown individual, but she didn't open her eyes. The crunch of the snow stopped short of her position, and a man's deep voice cut through the quiet of her tranquil morning.

"Lieutenant?"

It was Joe Toye. M.J., though a bit miffed at him at first for trying to take her bag, and pointing a gun at her back (though she hadn't really cared, she'd been so relieved to get out of there), had completely forgiven any offense he may have caused her. He was a good man. Quiet, but good. He never really said too much, and for that, she was grateful. It gave her more time to think, and enjoy his silent company.

"I already told you, Joe. You can call me M.J. I really don't mind. In fact, I prefer it." She cracked open one eye, and watched as he kneeled down beside her, his eyes scanning the tree line. He looked a bit troubled, so she shifted her legs, and leaned forward a bit. "Penny for your thoughts, Joe?"

[MillietheWarrior]

His dark eyes flashed towards her, and he frowned slowly, thoughtfully. "I've been thinking about what you told us the other day," he began, his voice a bit muffled by the sharp wind that had begun to pick up and bite at their exposed faces. "You know, about bein' behind the German lines. And, well, how the hell did you survive that long without getting caught?"

M.J. snorted softly, and folded her arms across her knees, pulling out her canteen, which by now, had nearly frozen solid, to take a drink. Finding that she couldn't without warming it up a bit, she stuck it in her jacket, wincing as the icy metal penetrated through her warm clothes.

"It's a matter of secrecy and stealth. I had to treat it as a delicate situation. If you act like them, talk like them, walk like them, and basically all but become one of them, then they never ask any questions. Do you honestly think they'd ever stop and wonder why I pushed so hard to get on the front lines? Do you think they'd suspect a woman of treachery, when she was in their army, and helping to save their soldiers? Sure, information on the front was a bit lax, and it was hard to scrounge around for some intelligence, but I did it anyway."

[MillietheWarrior]

She paused and took a deep breath, watching as it appeared and vanished before her eyes.

"Those Field Marshals, they get all the good stuff. I stayed close to them when I got the chance, said I'd be right there if they ever got hit, and duplicated their maps, papers, and just about every other document I could get my hands on. I became their runner, their 'go-to' person while I was with them. And I did everything they didn't want to do themselves. Then they transferred me to that shitty battalion, and it became hell on earth from then on out. 'Cept it was colder than all get out…"

She shrugged, and pulled her canteen out, taking a sip of water and placing it back on her belt. Her dark eyes were nearly hidden beneath her cap and helmet, and her curly hair was stuffed into her hat.

[MillietheWarrior]

"You know, they aren't as smart as everyone thinks they are. They're fightin'…Well, that's a whole other story. Those SS…They're like a bat outta hell when they get the Americans in their sights. You know the Ost Battalion, them Soviets? Well, they'd just as soon surrender than fight. Of course, most of their COs will shoot them in the back if they even think about droppin' their weapon. And a lot of the German soldiers would rather just give up and get out of this hell hole when they get the chance, especially when they're gettin' shot at. But most of them are real proud, and for good reason. They're one of the best armies I ever saw, though their leader is crazy as hell. I wouldn't want to ever meet him face to face…"

[5]

[MillietheWarrior]

She laughed bitterly, and Joe raised his eyebrows. He cracked a small smile, and balanced his M-1 on his knee. "So, you're tellin' me that you spent all that time in the German army, and never met Hitler? You must be heartbroken." He grinned wickedly, and M.J. offering him a sardonic smile.

"Yeah, heartbroken," she joked, before frowning slowly. "I'm just glad I got out of there. There's some good men in the German army, nice as can be. But there are some real…Asses in it too. I hated dealin' with them. Made life miserable." Joe nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you can't always serve with a paratrooper. Be nice if you could, though. Then hell wouldn't seem so bad." His dark eyes scanned the lines, and then the treetops one last time. "Least the damn trees aren't frickin' explodin' right now."

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. couldn't agree more. She'd seen first hand what those shells did to men. Right now, she was just happy there was a lull in the shelling. It was hard to form a coherent thought anyway, without a tree falling to pieces right by your head and sending trees limbs through your arm.

"Yeah." Her dark brows drew together, and she stood, stretching her legs and shaking the snow from her pants. "Come on. Let's go get somethin' to eat. Looks like they're dishin' out some food. You hungry?"

Joe nodded and stood as well, brushing off his pants just as the woman beside him had. "Sure am," he commented, as the two began the short trek to the food line. There were already a few men lined up, cold, metal cans held in their hands as they waited anxiously for their food.

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. allowed the others to trot towards the line first, taking their place at the front, and the middle. She waited until everyone had gotten their place in line, and then slowly dragged her feet towards the end. She hadn't noticed Joe standing beside her, waiting along with her as she watched everyone else line up. She figured he'd want to be at the front.

"Hey, what're ya doin' back here with me? Thought you'd wanna be first in line." She glanced over at him, arms wrapped around her torso. He chuckled, his breath materializing and then vanishing into the air.

"Nah, it doesn't matter to me, really. A line's a line. It's not gonna get any shorter if I stand in the middle of it. Besides, you looked lonely. Though you could use the company." He shrugged, and slung his rifle over his shoulder, imitating his friend and wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm.

M.J. shook her head. "You're an odd fella, Joe. A real odd fella."

[MillietheWarrior]

---

"They have their guns set up here, here and here."

M.J.'s fingers ran across the map slowly, skillfully pointing out every gun emplacement she could remember. She was pretty sure she had all of them, and marked each with a small, red 'X.'

Nixon raised his dark brows, frowning thoughtfully. "That's an awful lot of fire power for one town. They must wanna keep Foy pretty badly, eh?" He folded up the map, carefully remembering each little red 'X,' just in case something were to happen to said piece of paper.

M.J. shook her head, curls bouncing around her face. She had discarded her helmet earlier to an icy log-chair, but her hat stayed firmly on her head, her hair falling out of it in tiny rivulets of brown and black. "They have a lot of guns, Nix. But that doesn't mean they have the ammo to use 'em. They're pretty short on a lot of things. At first they weren't, and figured they'd have pushed ya'll out before they had to settle into a place like this. But they used up their resources pretty quick. Now they're payin' for it. They're short on food and ammo, and most importantly, men."

[MillietheWarrior]

Winters listened to the new intelligence officer carefully, blue eyes flickered from her face, to the second map she had laid out beneath the first. M.J. continued. "Now, I'm not sayin' this'll be easy. They still have tanks, guns and men, yeah. Of course. I mean, it'd be stupid not to. They just don't have as much as the Americans. It'll be hard to take Foy, but I'm confident you'll take it, regardless."

Dick folded his arms across his chest. He knew that he would be ordered to take Foy fairly soon, so he had requested M.J.'s intelligence. Sink had seen fit to assign her to Easy, since, not only had they brought her in, but they would most likely be making the main assault on Foy. He wanted them to be ready.

[10]

[MillietheWarrior]

Winters frowned slowly. He would probably lose a lot of good men in the assault, he knew. It was inevitable. He wasn't keen on the idea at all, but Easy had been assigned this mission, and he'd have to follow through. Having a bit of a leg up with the intelligence would certainly give them an edge. Although having Dike lead the attack didn't sit too well with him. He definitely had his doubts about that lieutenant, but he just couldn't replace him. He didn't have a man to do it.

"Well, major?" M.J.'s voice cut through his thoughts, breaking him out of his grim musings. "What do you think?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Winters sighed, folding up the map in front of the woman, and handing it back to her. "I think this is going to be one heck of an operation. But we'll get it done. You certainly helped a lot. Thank you, lieutenant."

M.J. smiled half-heartedly. She knew what was going on in Dick's head, and she understood. She had met quite a few German officers who were exactly the same way. They cared for their men, and for their men's well being. But some, if not all, of the SS officers were the exact opposite. They'd push their men into hell without a second thought for their welfare. Those were the men she had despised the most.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Yeah." She raised a hand to salute, and dismiss herself, but then paused. "Major, if I could ask something…" His glance in her direction urged her to speak. "If possible…With this assault…Could you instruct your men…to maybe take as many prisoners as possible? I mean, I know we're in a war, and I know everyone thinks the Germans are bad but…" She paused again, and looked unsure. "A lot of them are just doing their job. They're really good people. And I just don't want to see anymore good people die."

Dick's eyes softened momentarily, and he offered her a tight smile. "I'll see what I can do, lieutenant. I'll see what I can do."

M.J.'s smile brightened only minimally, and she snapped off a salute, turning to go when the major returned it and dismissed her from the protection of their improvised tent.

[MillietheWarrior]

---

Joe sat in his foxhole, his back against the cold, hard earth that cradled his form like a shelter of dirt and ice. He sighed quietly, and hugged his M-1 closer to him, as though it might provide some much needed warmth.

He was slightly startled when another person slid down in the foxhole with him, dark eyes hidden beneath a helmet and cap. The solider offered him a small smile, and leaned back against the opposite side of his foxhole, pulling off her helmet and placing it in her lap.

"When are you gonna get yourself a weapon, lieutenant?"

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. grinned cheekily, and pulled a pistol from her belt. A German pistol. A luger. "Already got me one. It's as good as I'm gonna get. Besides, you guys don't have enough weapons for me." She frowned. "At least, that's what I'm told."

Joe shook his head. "Bullshit, we don't. Stay here." He placed his helmet on his head and leapt out of the foxhole, rifle in hand. M.J. watched him go from the rim of the hole, before settling back down on the other side.

Before long, a pile of dirt streamed form the opposite side of the foxhole, and Bill Guarnere slid in. "Hey," he commented. "You ain't Joe. What'd ya do, steal his foxhole?" He was grinning broadly as he peeked over the edge, looking about for his missing friend.

[15]