A squad of ducks

The orphans knew their lives depended on the lessons we were giving them. They acted accordingly. None of them gave us trouble motivating them to listen or obey the orders me or my section members gave them.

Welcome to the old new age of teaching.

Two of them were minors, sixteen and seventeen. Two were barely eighteen. One was nineteen. And the oldest was twenty. Respectively named: Mia and Ella, Clara and Lina, Sophia and Emma. For all I cared they could call themselves the A-team, having all their names end on ‘A’. Being abandoned they grew up fast mentally, certainly under our care, taught by people with more or less the same age. But the psychological damage was not be underestimated. I was still angry for it and whenever I saw them, I had to frown at the mere stupidity, the cruelty and the selfishness of the villagers.

The girls grew attached very fast to the women of my section and trusted them with their worries, problems and past experiences while training continued. Sometimes after ‘work’ Tom and Didier helped me dig, but mostly I was silently digging their shelter, listening to the girls, to the women teaching them, advising them or consoling them.

At one of their circle moments, I heard Clara telling Kate a particular nasty story of an older villager trying to get into her panties in exchange for a can of soup. She had refused, but was worried he might do it again with other, more **** women.

Kate looked up at me and nodded at me to come sit in the circle. They were still intimidated with me as I saw them hastily, nervously making place for me next to Kate.

“Did you hear what Clara just told me?” Kate asked gently. Asking me silently for once not to frown upon the orphans.

I sighed and softened my expression.

“I did.”

Not wanting her to repeat her story, it must have been difficult to tell the story to Kate for the first time, I asked Clara:

“That can of soup, was it the only one he said he had?”

“No.” Clara said. “He showed me his house. He lives alone, but has quite a lot of food stacked in his kitchen and living room.”

Hmm... one of those survivors, just like I was before the war started. Except that I wasn’t planning to extort people for it when the times would come.

“Hmm... So he has a lot of food, but he wants something in return, especially from young innocent girls.”

“He always had a reputation for being fond of younger girls.” Clara stated.

“Is he armed?” I asked.

“Not that I know of.” She answered.

“What are you going to do? Kill him?” One of the other girls asked me suddenly. Sophia.

“Kill him? To prevent someone doing something bad, it is not always needed to kill. Certainly not if you have time to plan.” I frowned at Sophia, thinking back at Kemal. I then involuntary looked at Kylie. “If you have time...” I sighed.

“Plenty of time now.” Kylie said knowingly. “But best not to wait too long with it. Do you want me to help?”

“No.”

“Always trying to keep me safe...” She mumbled.

“Take Clara with you this night to show you where he lives.” Kate softly commanded me. “And Sophia to help you carry.”

She already knew what I had in mind. Every one of the section could guess it easily. Except the rest.

“Carry what?” Sophia asked.

“You’ll see.” I briefly replied. “Clara, Sophia, you two gather here at eleven this night.”

I stood up and started digging again.

A bit impolite, Alex, more than just blunt, even rude, the way you answered. Why am I doing that? Perhaps I don’t want to attach myself to them, nor them to me?

At eleven that night they were waiting for me, looking in the direction I left for my preparations. In the wrong direction of course, as I came from the opposite way.

At five meters, I simply said: “Good, you’re here.”

They both startled, Clara even shrieked.

I frowned upon them and said:

“Always make sure you are covered in all directions. With the two of you, you easily could have seen me coming. You both were standing up, making yourself a larger target. You were talking to each other so you couldn’t hear me come. At least you wear dark cloths, but you haven’t painted or mudded your face. Did Kylie not mention to do that while in the woods at night?”

“She did,” Sophia muttered.

“Well, Clara, show the way, but I expect both of you to correct that oversight on the way. So Clara first, then me, then Sophia, in single file. Silent.”

Alright, a bit too strict perhaps. Really have to learn better manners. Unless I simply don’t want to?

It was far from a silent walk. They kept their mouths shut, but they kept on stumbling in the woods, unsure if they wouldn’t crash into a tree.

Patience, Alex... They’ll get there. More than a month now, the forests have been your silent friends, keeping you and your section safe. The orphans need time to adapt.

His house was secluded at three sides by trees. No wall. Small windows except at the back.

Entry at the back then.

I whispered that the girls needed to lay down, not to move next to the trees at the back. Just watch and stay hidden.

I neared the house. I unshouldered the **** rifle, smashed the large window at the back of the house with the butt plate and then retreated around the corner of the house.

Wakey, wakey...

As expected, the guy woke up. Candle light on the second floor. A heavy stumble on the stairways. Fat guy. Strong perhaps. Light in the living room. Flickering by the air now venting out into the open. Light shining more and more outwards in the little garden at the back.

German curses. Perhaps trying to see outwards in the dark garden. Glass is dangerous to walk on. Stumbling back on the stairways. Getting dressed. Took some time. Stairways again. With shoes on now. Opening front door. Holding candle in front of him.

Left side corner it is.

He couldn’t have expected it. Someone crouching down, muscles fully tensed in anticipation. To then fully, explosively punching the butt of the gun into his stomach, precisely at his turning of the corner. He was blinded by his own candle light, only to see where he was going. He would see me, but just a fraction of a second too late. The punch surprised him, didn’t really hurt, not at the time. But the following head butt with the rifle knocked him out, flooring him on his back.

Sleepy, sleepy...

I turned him onto his stomach fast, just in case, he wasn’t knocked out. The surprise effect was wearing out fast, if he wasn’t K.O., but I had just enough time to shackle him. I felt his pulse. Still going. Still breathing. Probably a broken nose or cheek, perhaps even his skull was cracked. It shouldn’t have been the case, I didn’t punch him that hard. I only wanted him to shock hard and to fall backwards.

Out by the shock then? Odd. I gagged him anyways. Blindfolded him with a sack. Then pulled his legs backwards at the ankles, chackled him there too and with an extra rope bound the arms to the legs. Just in time. He came by.

Not going anywhere...

It took less than a minute. A lot less. A typical blitz-attack.

Germans... They should know better, being blitz-attacked, sorry, bad joke...

“Right,” I said loudly: “You can come out now. Enter the house, close the curtains if there are any. Search with the flashlights, and put the food into these sacks. He has a wheelbarrow somewhere, load the sacks on it. Clear the window with the gun before you enter.”

And with that, they went to work, barely paying attention to the man.

He had quite the stockpile. We would have to come back several times. Unloading a mile further into the forest, before picking up another load. We entered via a detour, so we would need to work all night and morning to get it done. We stripped the place down after collecting all the food. Blankets, candles, radio’s, batteries, water supplies, hunting knives, an old but decent hunting gun, fishing materials, desalinization tablets, medications against fever, infection etcetera.

Really, quite the collection. He was better prepared than me before the war.

Oh, and an enormous porn supply... Even I was scratching my head at the titles. Lots of SM, young girls, the bad illegal kind. And then I found his cellar. I closed it off for the girls, ordering them not to enter it.

Oh my... this is bad... Luckily we were on time. Here. This time.

Then we deconstructed his bed, sofa, chairs for fire wood and construction materials. Amazing how much work you can do when motivated. But when the sun was rising and we still had things to do, I sent Clara to get more of the orphans.

Running they arrived. All four of them. Plus Clara. I asked Sophia to organize the work. At almost noon all supplies were at their campsite.

Kylie, Kara and Kate were waiting on me. They had watched the steady drop of supplies by the girls, so they were not concerned about my safety.

Kate ordered the girls into the circle and asked me to join.

“So how did the operation go?” She asked me.

“Rather well. No resistance. No deaths, no kills. But the man we encountered was a very... how do I put it... he was a real predator for younger girls, but would have been a danger to all pretty women. He planned for this. Waited for starving women, then would offer his kind of solution.” I reported.

“You left him there?” Kylie asked.

“Without leverage he will not be able to continue his plan. I left him tied up. He will find a way to slither up to the road. He will have a bad time explaining what happened with his entire porn collection scattered around his house. And the large note painted on his front door will leave little room for doubt what he was trying to do.”

“After action report?” Kara, this time.

“All useful stuff collected and transported. But I have concerns about the tracks that were made. They will need to be covered up.”

“Team performance?” Kate, with a knowingly smile on her face looking straight at me.

“The girls need more practice in situational awareness. See, but not be seen. Hear, but not be heard. Be more prepared.”

Klara and Sophia looked unhappy at that.

“They learn fast, and were not seen during the action. Klara gathered the rest of the troop fast, they had run the entire way, arrived all at once and not out of breath arriving. They worked fast and efficient. Sophia shows promises of organization skills and command.”

Klara and Sophia lightened up considerably.

“So all in all a job well done, but room for improvement.” Kylie stated.

“There is always room for improvement, you know that, Kylie, even with us.” I replied. “Perhaps we can use the new section as a way to improve each other. Practical exercises, during day and night. Observing them one night, check their vigilance, fake-kill their guard, capture the flag games and other games we might invent...”

But looking at Kylie, however interested, she clearly wanted me to say something else too:

“But yes, a job well done. By the entire section.”

In all fairness it was a job well done. But things needed improvement. I started giving my commands for the day, for the first time to the entire new squad.

“Mia and Ella, you will go back to the way we came from, and cover up the tracks that were made. Don’t make additional tracks if you have to lift heavy branches to cover the first one. Your section gathered some gardening materials during the op, make use of them.”

“Clara and Ina, check your traps and make new ones. Then check the fishing nets and smoke the fishes.”

“Sophia and Emma, you will dig for the day. Make sure you can see anyone coming while you do that.”

“On a final note about what we did earlier, it will certainly make waves in the villages. Make sure you have eyes and ears there to provide news about the man’s actions or anyone else that is helping him. I leave Sophia in command for the rest of the day. Stay vigilant and work efficient. Assume someone is watching you, or wants to get close or worse, wants to follow you. We will return to our camp for some more debriefings and gathering food.”