A hand wakes me up

My eyes open when a hand squeezes my arm. Nikolai crouches over me.

“It’s time to go, dear.”

“It’s the middle of the fucking night! What time is it?”

“Early. We move now so we can get ahead of him. We’re jumping the lines and laying a trap.”

“Jumping the lines…. Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“I know it sounds daring, but if we get in front of him, we can finish this once and for all.”

“Alright.” I sigh. “I trust you.”

I don’t. This sounds like a suicide mission to me. Regardless of what I think, he gathers the three of us and leads us out.

“Are you okay, coming with us?” I ask Alyona.

“I’m going to kill the bastard myself.” She growls.

We jump ahead, down the lines, traveling through the factory district, cutting through buildings. A Red Army sergeant sits against a wall, smoking a cigarette. A soldier next to him watches vigilantly through the windows before him.

“Comrades, is there something you need?” He asks us.

“Yes.” Ivan tells him. “We’re looking for a good place to jump the lines.”

“Jump the lines?”

“We have little time.”

“I’ll bring you there. There’s a contested area nearby, lots of debris. The German position there is strained, you may be able to sneak in.”

We follow him to a wasteland of shredded metal, the ruins of a building.

“Look carefully, comrades.” He whispers.

“That building has been turned into a graveyard. Neither side has taken it and held. It has become a dead space. If you sneak through there, you should be close to the lines. Just a street to cross.”

“But how can we cross that street without being seen? We may need a diversion.”

“I don’t like where this is going.” The sergeant protests.

“We are going after a high ranking German sniper, one who’s killed hundreds of our men. Help us get this son of a bitch once and for all.”

“I’ll give you one hour, from right now. You’ll have your diversion.” He assures us.

“Thank you, comrade.” Ivan turns to us. “Follow me.”