Time to do what we do best

We are in a large apartment building which overlooks a wasteland of destroyed houses.

The reticle of my scope rests over the partially exposed barrel of an MG34. I am still as a stone, my finger resting near the trigger. Nikolai whispers to me.

“We can only hope that they catch him before he sees one of us.”

“This isn’t going to end well.” I whisper back.

“Just focus.” He says. “Are you ready to start this? Take the shot when you’re ready.”

“Understood.” I whisper, then trace my reticle up the barrel of the machine gun. My finger drops to the trigger, where it rests gently. I block out every thought, every feeling, and focus. The machine gunner’s muzzle lights up a few times as he fires. He begins to turn so that he can see in another direction, exposing himself to me.

It’s the last thing he does before my finger finishes its movement. My rifle goes off in my hands, the reticle square in the middle of his upper body. I see the impact, and my target slumps. The machine gun is silenced. Just as soon as I know that I scored a hit, I duck down and crawl away from my firing position.

“I got him.”

“Good work. Maybe you should check on Ilya.”

“I’ll make sure he knows what to do. Are you okay by yourself?”

“Yes, for a while. He probably needs more help than me. We need to kill enough to attract our enemy’s attention, but be careful.”

I stop and take a moment to embrace Nikolai and give him a quick kiss, before moving out into the hallway and towards Ilya. I come across a pair of soldiers I remembered seeing earlier. One of them is an antitank gunner. He’s smoking a cigarette in the hallway. They notice me coming and watch me with great anticipation as I approach them.

“Look, it’s that Krasotka from earlier!” One of them whispers to the other, just loud enough for me to hear.

“Excuse me, please.” I say to them.

“What do you need?” One asks. They both seem eager to speak to me.

“Did you see another sniper? A young man, called Ilya?”

“Yes, maybe, twenty minutes ago?”

“Where is he?”

“Third door on the left.”

“Thank you, comrades.” I tell them and continue on my way, a little smirk on my face from what they said about me.

I creep into the room where Ilya is, but I don’t see him.

“Ilya.” I whisper.

“Tatyana?” A whisper comes back from the other side of the room.

“Where are you?” I ask.

“On the desk.”

I see his foot sticking out from under a large piece of rubble from the ceiling.

“Damn, Ilya, good spot!” I whisper.

“Do you see anything?”

“I’ve got my eye on a sergeant. He exposes himself every now and then, but I haven’t had a good chance at him yet.”

“Don’t waste that spot for a sergeant. Seasoned men are valuable but officers are even more valuable. Check the high windows of that building to the left.”

I sit tight and give him some time.

“Do you see anything.”

“Not yet.”

“Keep looking.”

I wait for maybe ten or fifteen minutes, when Ilya speaks.

“I see something.” He whispers. “A man with binoculars. I think he’s an officer.”

“Take the shot as soon as you’re ready.” I order him.

Ilya’s rifle goes off and he cautiously backs out of his hiding place.

“I got him.” He says, and high crawls over to me.

“Good kill. Your first officer?”

“Yes.”

“Good work! What do you think he was looking at?”

“He was looking right at our building, talking to somebody in the room with him, but I couldn’t see who.”

“Maybe he was…. Fuck.” I mutter, hearing howitzers firing off in the distance.

The two of us throw ourselves to the floor just before the first round of shells rocks the front of our building with deafening explosions. The building shakes and we’re showered with dust. Mortar shells start exploding throughout the housing blocks before us.

“Get to the staircase!” I shout, and lead Ilya through the door and down the hall a short distance. “Get down!”

We take cover against the inside wall. I want to see how long we have in between rounds.

Ilya tackles me to the floor and lays on top of me just before we’re deafened by a massive explosion at the front right of the room we just occupied. We’re showered with rubble from the wall and ceiling. We lay flat as the shells continue to bombard us.

“Fuck, we almost died!” Ilya cries when I haul him up. I take one quick glance through the door to see the entire corner of the room cratered and blown out before I pull Ilya behind me further down the hall.

My internal clock goes off and I pull him down to the floor with me. We ball up and yet another round violently hammers our building. The mortars persist. I hope that Nikolai is okay.

Finally, we reach the staircase and join a large group of soldiers taking cover as the bombardment continues.

“Tatya, Ilya!” It’s Nikolai. I throw myself at him for a big hug. “Good to see you two alive! Any news for me?”

The mortars finally stop, but the bigger shells hitting our building persist.

“Ilya took an officer, looks like the bastard who called in this barrage, so justice served.” I tell him. “We almost got blown to bits in the second round.”

“I got another, a sapper.” He tells us. “With the one I got earlier, we’re up to four today. Killing that officer should draw some attention.”

Suddenly the battle before us picks up, machine guns hammering on both sides. Rifles crack. The sounds of several MP40s and PPSh’s rip through the air. Grenades explode throughout.

The barrage hitting us finally dies out.

“Let’s go!” Nikolai urges us. “Our comrades need our help!”