A Necessary Evil (Ben)

[Daniel Brennan]

OOC: This is my first RP post in quite a while, so forgive me if I am a bit rusty.

France

Daniel lounged in the front seat of the convoy truck as it bumped along the narrow road. The truck was headed towards the village of Hauteur, a small commune on the summit of a ridge. Daniel moodily looked out the window as they drove, and ignored any attempts from Corporal Teal to make conversation. This was not something he wanted to be doing. His mission was to inform the villagers that they would have to move out of their homes to make way for a few large artillery pieces. Hauteur was situated roughly 300 metres above sea level, and it would give the allies line of site for miles into German lines.

The artillery post in the village would be of crucial importance to the allied victory on this front, and it would surely speed up the German retreat. It was the only high ground for miles in any direction, and the village was situated on a perfect plateau, which offered unparalleled 360 degree views. Although kicking the villagers out of their homes did seem like an evil thing to do, it was a necessary evil. Daniel was trying to convince himself that all this was true, but he was having a hard time of it. As far as he could tell, there were several nearby hills almost as tall as Hauteur, and none of them were populated. Some distant general had probably come up with the idea. He had just picked the tallest point on a map and decided that it was the ideal spot, regardless of any effect on the locals. Daniel was furious – he was in this war to help people. But it was his job, regardless of whether he enjoyed it. He wasn’t going to disobey an order like this and be sent back to the States in chains.

”We’re here,” Teal announced, interrupting Daniels brooding. The best word that could be used to describe the village was “quaint”. It was hardly large enough to be called a village, really. It contained fifteen or so relatively small stone dwellings, a shop and a church with a large steeple. As the truck pulled up outside the church, it was surrounded by a crowd of giggling and laughing children. This only made Daniels mood worse. He hopped out of the truck and was immediately swarmed. He couldn’t resist a smile, and he threw a few sticks of gum into the crowd to disperse it. He pulled aside an older looking lad and told him in stuttering and badly accented French to go get his father.

Daniel swung open the tailgate of the truck and held out a hand to stop the dozen or so men in the back.” Leave your rifles in here, you won’t need them” He informed the squad. They didn’t need to bring the weapons at all, but policy dictated that they shouldn’t travel far from the base without being properly armed. He stepped aside and let the men jump out, groaning and stretching their cramped limbs.

[Ben Shirley]

Sitting on the steel seats, hunched back as Ben looked down at his feet with almost no emotion. His usual loud mouth was shut for this trip, but his brothers thought nothing of it, just having mild laughs and stupid conversations. He only brought Joseph and Kevin, the rest stayed at headquarters since Ben didn't know about how racist the rest of the troops could be. He didn't wanna bring an entourage of shadows with him at the very beginning. He had brought his two other white soldiers, making it four in the back of the convoy that was under Shirley's command. The rest were mostly just Dan's men who didn't mind entering in conversation with the Shirley's. Not even moving an inch unless a road bump caused the truck to teeter-totter left and right, Ben was deep in his own thoughts. His rifle, the De Lisle Carbine, simply used the wall of the truck as a support, right next to Ben as it looked like it was leaning on it.

A village was there destination, to establish an artillery post as a means to take out German lines. It also had a beautiful view from there, clear view of the landscape in all directions, a wise choice for an out-post. Main problem was there was villagers that had to be kicked out of their home, which wouldn't be too much of a problem for Ben. Everyone had to make their life harder in some way so that the war could be won, but him and brothers thought it wasn't anything worth feeling patriotic about. They wanted to survive, get recognized for surviving and then get home to survive in everyday civilian life. A good plan to Ben, at the time anyway.

Daniel Brennan was the man in the front of the truck, looking at the window with a dull face. He had a vivid battle history as far as Ben knew, and he had to show him the utmost respect. His rebel attitude had diminished somewhat, but this was only caused by the gut feeling he had nowadays. Like something bad was gonna, something ominous. Maybe this was gonna be one of those times. The sounds of giggling and the like could be heard outside, signaling that their destination had been reached with relative ease. Being the first one out, busting the doors open as he stretched while more soldiers flooded out. Hearing the order to leave their weapons, Ben followed with the order, "Ya'heard him Joseph, leave it in the truck." Grunting at the idea, Joseph hopped out without his weapon and proceeded to stretch too.

Walking up to the Master Sergeant with an upright posture, Ben saluted with a casual facial expression. "Sir Daniel Brennan, Corporal Ben Shirley at your service. Whats the orders?"

[Daniel Brennan]

Daniel turned around as he heard someone approaching from behind. It was Corporal Shirley, his second in command for the mission. Ben Shirley and his undetermined number of brothers were without a doubt the most interesting people in the 3rd Infantry Division. For one thing they were black, and drew stares practically anywhere they went. They also managed to stick together no matter where they went. It wasn’t uncommon for a whole family to join the military on the same day, but they were usually split up during the training process. The Shirley brothers managed to stay together wherever they went. Another curious thing about the brothers was the fact that they were even allowed to fight. The US military was undoubtedly racist and any non-whites that joined were usually relegated to minor positions as cooks or truck drivers. The fact that Ben Shirley had managed to get into a front line unit spoke wonders of his character. The best word Daniel could think of to describe Shirley was “unique”.

Daniel stepped in closer to Shirley in an attempt to keep the conversation private. ”For the most part have the men arranged around the square in front of the church, and try to get them to look at ease, but in control. This is a nasty business and I don’t want it getting out of control. Keep three men stationed at the truck at all time, I really don’t want this to turn ugly, but we have to be prepared.” Daniel nodded once at Shirley and walked away. He had tried to pick some of his more mature men for the mission and he had no doubt that any orders Shirley gave would be obeyed to a T. ”After you have that arranged, follow me to my... meeting.”

Daniel noticed a group of three Frenchmen walking purposefully his way. These would be the unofficial village elders. Even though they held no official position in the village, they would be true leaders, whose orders would be obeyed by everyone. These were the people Daniel would have to convince. If he could win them over, the whole village would follow without a fuss. Daniel beckoned over Teal and walked towards the Frenchmen. Teal had a much better grasp of French than Daniel, although it was still far from perfect. They met in the centre of the square. The youngest of the Frenchmen, he looked about thirty five, seemed to appoint himself the speaker, and immediately began to speak in fluent English. ”It is nice to see you here Sergeant, my name is Remi Martin. What brings you to our village?” Although he spoke in a friendly manner, there was a hardness in his eyes, which suggested otherwise. He knew the soldiers had not just arrived on a courtesy call.

”I have bad news, Monsieur.” Daniel started out. The man was intelligent and there would be no beating around the bush with him. He would get straight to the point. ”Hauteur has a key position on the ridge and it overlooks the German positions several miles away” he said, gesturing to the East. ”Unfortunately the US army requires this position as a base for artillery. You will be required the vacate the village and move to the other side of the ridge” Daniel droned off in an official sounding voice. This went down as he expected it to. Remi furiously translated for the other two men, who immediately started to babble angrily in French. ”My family has lived in this village for three hundred years! Do you think we are going to move just because you Americans want us to?” Remi barked out a cruel sounding laugh. ”You are an idiot, what is wrong with that hill over there?” He shouted, stabbing a finger at a nearby hill. This was a question Daniel was dreading, as he genuinely did not have an answer for it.

”Monsieur, I am only a Sergeant. I don’t make any decisions around here. My job is to follow my orders. I don’t like this any more than you do, but it is necessary for the war effort.” Daniel answered back, trying to keep a calm voice. This looked like it was about to get violent. Daniel gave a sideways glance at Shirley, hoping he would step in. Shirley obviously had a way with words, and tended to flabbergast anyone who attempted to hold a conversation with him. Remi Martin would be no match for Shirley!

[Ben Shirley]

Since Daniel didn't make any comments about his race or any other slurs, Ben assumed that the Master Sergeant didn't think ill of Ben. Gossip about his "character" spread around like wild-fire across the US Army, so the black man wouldn't be surprised by any of Daniel's comments. But he tiled his head forward as to better listen to the soldier's commands, catching wind that the conversation should be a bit more private as they were dealing with villagers. Ben heard the orders clear : Get the men set up for a possible mob attack. It wasn't the Master Sergeant's exact words but Ben understood the meaning. Neither of them wanted hell on their hands.

Turning around to stroll towards the back of the truck, the amount of soldiers that were waiting there was a dozen. Gesturing to his two brothers, Ben cleared his throat before making the order, "Alright. Orders from Daniel are as said : 3 soldiers are to "wait" by the truck." Emphasizing on "wait", he obviously meant guard. A nod by all the soldiers meant they understood, so Ben continued walking towards the soldiers as he tilted his head forward, lowering his voice so that no one else could eavesdrop.

"I think you all know how to guard a town square, specifically the one in front of the church. Just try and look at ease, make light conversation with the locals but don't reveal our objective and always be alert. Now, 3 on each side, while the last 3 go up the middle. Lastly, spread yourselves as far as possible to cover the entire square without leaving yourselves thin," finishing the order, Ben saluted off the soldiers who saluted back, walking to the square and following their orders. They all had smiles and the like, one of them even already got started chatting up a gal. All in good jest Ben thought.

Now remembering to go report back to the Sergeant, Ben left his two brothers and another of his soldiers to guard the truck. Making a small journey to Daniel, the 3 figures that walked toward the Sergeant was probably the leaders. Shit was about get real and Ben wasn't about to back down from some old men. This place was gonna be a artillery post whether they liked it or not. Everyone had to sacirfice something in this war, sadly it was time for these villagers to sacirfice their village so that the allies could start bombing away.

Being a silent lamb, Ben listened and watched the conversation between Remi and Daniel unfold. It quickly became an argument more than anything, Remi scoring the first blow by calling Daniel an idiot. When he asked what was wrong with the other ridge, Ben stayed quiet until given the signal by his Sergeant. Once he got that "look" from Dan, the black man turned into a true black man.


"The problem with the other ridge? Its that we weren't ordered to take it. I know you have a family here and that you do not want to leave this village, but if you forgot while you were chilling in your homes, there is a war thats happening right now. If we lose the war, you won't have a village and all of your daughters are gonna get raped by the Nazi scum that is gonna right at your doorstep if you do swallow your pride for a moment, and let us establish an artillery post. You think its easy for us? We are humans too, we care for y'all. But we also care about the long-term which is this : We will safely evacuate everyone in village, so that we can have full coverage of the Germans lines as a means for our troops to advance. I may be speaking out of line since I am a Corporal, but as a civilian, I know what your going through. Help us, help you Remi," ended Ben with his speech that was the corniest shit he has ever said. But hopefully it would work.

[Daniel Brennan]

OOC: I decided that we aren’t going to be able to fill up a thread just with conversation, so I decided to make things exciting! (And not in the way you would expect...)

Daniel listened and struggled to conceal a grin as Ben started to rant. He certainly had a way with words, that much was obvious. Ben just didn’t seem to care what he said, and that was what made him so effective in an argument. He just said whatever he thought, no matter how crude or insulting. Ben casually mentioned how Remi’s daughters were going to get raped by Germans if he didn’t move, which caused Daniel to laugh out loud, which he quickly turned into a coughing fit. Luckily, Remi had his full attention on Shirley and didn’t seem to even notice, but one of the older Frenchmen glared at him. Daniel gave a barely perceptible nod as Ben finished his small speech. He had just been so outright and phrased the words in a way that wouldn’t work for Daniel. It would be enough to convince any sane person to leave their home.

Remi just stood there in silence for a number of minutes, as if he were still trying to decipher Shirley’s accent. A vein bulged on his forehead. Suddenly he exploded. ”What are you talking about; my daughter is four years old!” he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. ”Are you threatening to rape my daughter? How dare you!” He roared, talking to both Daniel and Shirley. Daniel noticed Teal take a step backwards. Remi had either completely misunderstood Shirley, or else he was just plain crazy. Daniel was willing to bet on the latter. He tried to put on a formal voice. ”Monsieur, I need you to calm down, we intend no harm towards your daughter. What Corporal Shirley here meant is-“
”Shut up!” Remi interrupted him. It looked like he was about to start a brawl. Daniel held up his arms and stepped forward. ”Monsieur, please stop shouting. Let’s just talk about this”

Suddenly, the sound of a rifle echoed throughout the town. Remi clutched the bullet hole that had just appeared on his shoulder and fell backwards. It would have been comical, if he hadn’t just been shot. ”Sniper in the church” Daniel heard one of his men call out. Daniel didn’t stick around. He dived behind the nearest wall, and attempted to drag Remi in behind him. Teal and Shirley were both soldiers, and all they would need were their reflexes. Daniel pressed himself into the wall, as another bullet pinged off the wall. There were a dozen American soldiers situated around the square, but not one of them had a rifle. Most of them would have taken cover at the first shot, but there was no way for them to retaliate.

It was chaos. Women and children were screaming and running into their houses, and Remi was groaning loudly beside him. Someone needed to take the sniper out. Daniel had picked the worst possible place to take cover. The wall was only about a metre high and was isolated close to the centre of the square. There was no way he was going to be able to move anywhere while still being fired at. ”Shirley!” Daniel called. ”Take whoever is close by and flank around the side of the church. Take that Sniper out!” He would have to rely on Shirley to save the day. Daniel hadn’t much knowledge of the mans fighting skills, but he hoped they would be good enough. ”Shit!” Daniel cursed as he realised nobody had any weapons. Shirley would have to think of something.

[Ben Shirley]

Now this motherfucka was getting stupid. Ben was about to go black man kung fu on his ass if it wasn't for Daniel getting into the conversation. Ben calmed down his nerves, balling up his fists with all of his strength as if it was a stress ball. Either Remi had too much wax in his ears or he really thought Ben was gonna rape the man's daughter. Silly mothafucka's these days, sometimes Ben felt like he needed to smack people just to get his point across. The ranting in Ben's mind came to a complete stop as his mind processed what his eyes saw, Remi getting shot and falling back.

Then, his ears registered the sound of the shot, immediately causing him to turn his body and head to the left. The nearest wall would provide suitable cover but then again, the sniper in the church had this area completely on lock-down. So since Ben didn't have a weapon and neither did any of the other soldiers, only one option engraved itself in Ben's mind : RUN! All of this thinking happened in less than a second, shots were fired at Ben, kicking up dirt as bullets hit the ground. The sweat trickled down his chin, while the adrenaline started pumping in his system. When Ben was only a jump away from the truck, his left foot stomped hard on the ground, leaping through the air before crashing on the dirt, behind the metal hood as the smell of gas permeated his nostrils. Crawling on the ground with haste until the three guards came into view, weapons in hand as they looked onward to the top of the church. Two of the guards being Ben's brothers, he made a hand-signal for them to come over as silently as possible.

"Whats the situation?" asked Ben with heavy panting in between the words, using the back of his hand to wipe off sweat from the forehead. The sweat and the sun made him seem even darker than he already was, which surprised most people. Kneeling down next to Ben, Kevin was the first to speak, "The sniper, from the sound of the rifle is using a Kar98k scoped. He has to pop his head out in order to have a view of the middle part of the townsquare. The outer-edges are in his sights," looking around to stay alert, Ben came back into the conversation. "Hes inexperienced so thats gonna be one of our advantages. Master Sergeant Daniel is pinned down so we have to move quick or else we'll be responsible," noted Ben as he gathered his De Lisle Carbine and two grenades.

The 3 guards following Ben as they hugged the wall of the church before turning the corner to see all of the 9 soldiers hugging the wall and the door. A motion with the hand made all of them move as silently as possible to the truck to gather weapons, but this wouldn't exactly be needed. Almost right under the church tower, Ben cooked his grenade for two before throwing it up as high as possible, the explosive ball just spiraling in every direction. Then, right when it was in front of the window of the brick church tower, the explosion and shrapnel started flying everywhere, a German voice screaming in pain as he seemed to shout something. The shrapnel penetrated the window and now it was time to get a captive.

"MOVE IN! SECURE THE CHURCH!" shouted Ben as all of the soldiers broke down the doors and began to secure the entire area. Ben and his brothers left the group with their orders of securing the sniper, while he made his way to Remi and Daniel who were behind the same wall. "Well Master Sargent, the sniper was a green. New recruit by the way he tried to shoot at me crazy. He revealed his position and it took a well placed grenade to take him out. The rest of the soldiers are in the process of securing the church," finishing his report, a few deep breaths filled the black man's lungs, helping him give oxygen to his muscles. He felt much better after such a short encounter, but it knocked the wind out of him with all of the talking and running he did.

OOC : Sorry if it seems rush Didn't wanna make you wait any longer