Pulling the trigger (fred... anyone else)

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

Terrain: urban
Time: 5:40 hours
Weather: Rain, cold, windy

It was falling down in sheets, the breeze was blowing hard, and to top it off, it was freezing outside. Joey began to think to myself, why am i here? why am, i still fighting in this stupid war? Joey kept walking until he found the field Head quarters in which his squad was staying in for the time being. joey then walked in and found his quarters were him and Robert, the corpal in his squad and one of his good friends, were staying. joey was tired and was reliefed that he was able to get off of his feat. he then began to open up some rations that were sitting on his cot. the rations were filled with bread grapes and some chunk of meat. the lord only knew what that chunk of meat acctually was. he joked around with other soldiers that he knew, about what kind of meat it was. or if it was just horse dunge. he bagan to snicker as he dug into the meat. tha soldier next to him asked what he got. joey explained what was in his box and afterwords asked the other soldier what was in his. the two soldiers talked for a while about the women they had dated and the good times they had back home. they kept talking until they were rudely interupted from an explosion and a sundden screams of terror. joey grabbed his rifle and ran with the other soldiers to the area that exploded and was now on fire. some type of accident just happened.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

Robert was standing over a small map that he kept in his chest pocket, just in case. He was looking at it intently when he felt a small chill and men start to talk. Why ain't there any silence for more than three friggin' seconds. He thought to himself as he didn't react to the group of men. He rolled up his sleeves and took the lamp closer to the map so he could see it better. He was thinking of different ways to storm Hitler's "Palace". It made him laugh a little when he pictured himself blowing the man's face off with his trusty Model 12 Winchester Shotgun. What a devastating shot.

Robert overheard some of the men talking about women and other things that he himself had no interest in. The only thing that interested Robert was finding new ways to kill and destroy. That was his whole mindset since he had been in his first small battle with the Japs. He had an extreme hatred towards all who were enemies of the U.S.

It had finally started to quiet down when an explosion rocked the quarters. One of the men sitting down let out a curse as he spilled some coffe on himself. Robert picked up his shotgun and started outside. When he was out the door he was immediately drenched by rain water. This'd better be good. He walked over to a Private that was taking a smoke. "Hey boy. What was that?" The man replied by pointing in the general direction of the sound. Smoke was coming from the area.

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

Joey stood there, astonished about what had just happened and he thought to himself whether it was an acident or not, it still must have killed someone. there was now fire that was begining to spread and quickly. the officers were pointing everyone to move out of the area and to not stay in the field HQ. Joey walked outside and was suddnely hit with the rain the trickled down his neck giveing him the chills. also the wind had kept blowing and was makeing some soldiers run into random buildings to get away from the constant shelling of rain on them. joey was still walking around outside trying to figer out what had just happened. Joey started to overhear what the others were saying. some were saying things like it was an attack to scare us, yet others were saying someone had accidently shot the gas tanks in the kitchen. no matter what it was, joey was scared yet nervous to get into action, yet he was excited to fight someone. he saw a corpal stading around so joey decided to walk over to him. the rain was cold, and now was falling down in sheats. when he had finnaly made it to the corpal he asked him "sir, private joey toniatti." he let out a salute. "what just happened sir?" joey looked over to the smoke that was billowing out of mthe corner of the building. Joeys head was now spinning.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

Robert was just about to make his way to the Mess Hall when he heard someone talk in his general direction. He turned to see who it was. "Sir, Private Joey Toniatti." the voice said. "What just happened sir?" The man was about Robert's age maybe younger. It really made no difference to him. "Well, Private Piss-pants, somethin' just blew up and I'm 'bout to figure that out myself. If you're little group of queers wants to tag along, be my guest." Robert was a bit angry of all the stupid people that he seemed to run into, whether it be idiots trying to pick a fight or someone right out of the states thinking that this was a walk in the park.

The walk there was unpleasant and full of boys murmering. When they finally got to the Mess Hall, Robert found the cook there with another Corporal that Robert knew by name . No CO's, as usual. Robert thought to himself. "Well Corporal James Stuart, nice seein' you here."

"Likewise Rob." Stuart said back to Robert. "Who's that with you?"

"Some kid by the name of Joey Tonitti or somethin'. I'm guessing he's from your Company?"

"Yes he is. Joey Toniatti."

"Yeah whatever. Anyways what was that explosion. Just 'bout knocked our Barracks down."

"Well, it looks like one of the propane tanks went off in the ovens. Noone was hurt, but the cook's pretty shooken up. He had just left when the blast went off." Stuart said as matter of factly.

Robert looked to where the blast had occured and saw the damage. It didn't look that bad. The tank must have been only about a quarter of the way full.

"Someone should probably get a superior in on this."

"Good idea. I'll get on that now you and your possy can hang around here until I get back."

"Good to me." Robert said as he was already walking towards where the coffee brewer was. He took the pot and started making some of his favorite drink and then he sat on one of the benches. Where he closed his eyes for a few seconds.

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

"Well, Private Piss-pants, somethin' just blew up and I'm 'bout to figure that out myself. If you're little group of queers wants to tag along, be my guest." said the corpal that was standing near him.

Joey then decided to follow this man. he was a bit shooken up about the way the corpal came off. joey thought to him self about how he was always hated back home. why was that he thought. then he heard this from the corpal again "Well Corporal James Stuart, nice seein' you here." joey reconized this man from baker company. he still didnt say anything.

"Likewise Rob." Stuart said back to the corpla joey just met. "Who's that with you?"

"Some kid by the name of Joey Tonitti or somethin'. I'm guessing he's from your Company?" said the corpal he had just met.

"Yes he is. Joey Toniatti."
joey was now directed over to a bench were the two men had a conzersation. joey waited until they were finished. and when the corpal had walked over and sat next to him joey figured it was his oppertunity to jump in. he said to the corpal "you know back at the states i used to help out an uncle of mine and repair cars and such. i believe i could take a look at this and see what i could do?"

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

The peace was very soothing as was the warmth of the room. Robert felt himself dozing until he heard that kid's voice again. "You know, back at the states, I used to help out an uncle of mine and repair cars and such. I believe I could take a look at this and see what i could do."

Robert opened his eyes and looked at Joey. He didn't answer for a few seconds, just looked blankly at him. He saw the kid had something he was trying to gain, acceptance maybe. "Well, boy. This ain't a car and this ain't the states. If yer thinkin' 'bout tinkerin' with that, don't. If somethin' goes wrong it'll be Stuart's fault, seein' as he is your Corporal and he's here." Robert had seen explosions that actually hit people. The sight of a man with his legs blown off filled his mind, so did the horrid stench. The stench was now familiar to him.

"I'd say the best thing you can do is just sit tight, and relax. But if that's too hard for a kid from the mafia, well that's just too bad." Robert made demeaning and racist remarks pretty much as often as he could. He didn't know many for Italian's, but he had heard of the mafia so he went with that.

Stuart soon returned with a Sergeant that Robert didn't recognize. He took note of the man by standing and saluting. The Sergeant gave a quick salute and kept walking to inspect the damage. They went into the room and didn't come back out for quite a while.

"Well kid, looks like we're gonna be here for a while. What's yer name again? Joey Tonattio?"

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

"I'd say the best thing you can do is just sit tight, and relax. But if that's too hard for a kid from the mafia, well that's just too bad." said the corpal. joey was now steaming with anger at this man and if it wasnt an officer he would have slugged him

"my name...its uh joey toniati." he began to clinch his fists thinking about the times back at home. he stood up and looked at the corpal "ive had enough of your shit and everyone elses shit. if you want to find me ill be in my bunk." he began to walk away and as soon as he stood outside he felt the rain fall on his body giveing him chills. joey then started to walk down the street. what was he doing here? why did he have to say all that racist things. he kept down the street. makeing himself feel better by kicking stones when he saw them and things like that. this guy had it coming if he kept this up.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

"My name...its uh Joey Toniatti." The kid began. "I've had enough of your shit and everyone elses shit. If you want to find me I'll be in my bunk." The words came out of nowhere, so thought Robert. He would have thought by now this kid would have heard everything in the book by his drill sergeant, he must have been one of the lucky ones to get one that's as laid back as they could be. Robert didn't really care if he offended the kid though. He wasn't here to make friends. He was here to do some killing.

About fifteen minutes after Stuart came back with the Sergeant everything was pretty much squared away. The Sergeant went on his way and Stuart came up to Robert and started talking.

"Well looks like the propane blew. Big surprise there. You can go if you want. Oh, but before you go, what happened to Toniatti?" Stuart said the last part with the feeling of a conscience.

"I said a remark or two and he got pissed. Not much to it." Robert said calmly as he took a sip of his coffee that was almost gone now.

"Maybe you could be a bit nicer to the new recruits. They can't all be Leatherneck psychos bred to kill. Like you."

"Ha. Ain't that the truth." The remark was sarcastic and almost depressing.

Robert finished his cup of coffee and shook the Corporal's hand. "Have a good night. And don't go blowin' anythin' else up a'ight?" Stuart nodded and walked off. He took his shotgun off of the wall and slung it over his shoulder. He looked out the window and saw rain and wind. Rain...my favorite. He thought to himself as he remembered Atlanta.

The night was very chilly and wet as he stepped out. Robert was instantly soaked again. It took him a few steps before he made it to the Barracks where he saw Joey laying on his bed. Robert walked over to the table where he was reading the map and placed his weapon on the table. Het then picked up the map and folded it neatly and put it in his chest pocket. "Hey boy. You look like a strong kid, you ever play football back in the states?"

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

joey kept walking down the path slowly. he was very upset by the way the corpal had gone on and talked to him. why was everyone racist? why did they hate him? who knows.

when joey had reached the bunks. he looked at his gun then threw it down to the ground. he took of his coat, that didnt do much in the rain or cold, and put it onder his bunk along with his helmet and gun. there were a few other things like a football under threre along with some pictures. joey picked up the football and began to toss it to him self. he wondered if anyone had known any thing about football. probably not he though. about five minutes later he decided to put the football away and take a nap.

joey was woken up by the corpal, who he had met earlyer, say this "Hey boy. You look like a strong kid, you ever play football back in the states?" joey began to think to himself, was he talking to me?

joey figured he was as most people werent as big as he was and didnt look like mutch of a football type of guy. he reached under his bed and threw the football to the corpal "yeah. i played half back in high school and quite a few colleges were looking at me. i dont know it dosnt matter now." he rolled over and looked at the corpal.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

The ball hit Robert right in the hands. He caught it with ease. It felt good to finally have a football in his hands again. The last time he remembered having one is when he ripped it out of a full-backs hand and ran it back for a touchdown in his senior year at highschool.

"Yeah. I played half back in high school and quite a few colleges were looking at me. I don't know it dosnt matter now." Joey said in reply to Robert's question. He seemed pretty sad, like he missed something from back home.

"That's a good position for a star. I was a middle linebacker. I also had a few colleges lookin' at me, but I figured, what makes more sense, goin' to college? or killin' a bunch of power mad fags?" Robert always had a weird way of putting things. Always with some type of insult or demeaning word snuck in there somewhere.

"Now that I look back, that was pro'ly my favorite thing about highschool. Never really had many friends except for a few. Most o' the other ones I either pissed off or scared away haha." He said in a tone that sounded like he was making a joke.

Robert then took a seat on the bunk next to the private. He sat there for a few seconds, trying to think of what to say next. "War does alot to someone, kid. Especially if you've seen half of the things I seen in Japan." He remembered the sights of the beatiful sea shore all stained with the blood of the men from his old company. He took two pictures out of his other chest pocket. The one was of his family with a beautiful girl that was one of his best friends. The other was of his squad. There were five other men, all smiling. "Ya know why we're here private? I mean fightin' this war?" His tone became serious now.

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

"That's a good position for a star. I was a middle linebacker. I also had a few colleges lookin' at me, but I figured, what makes more sense, goin' to college? or killin' a bunch of power mad fags?" said the corpal. he wondered why he was always insulting people.

it was then when joey heard him say "Now that I look back, that was pro'ly my favorite thing about highschool. Never really had many friends except for a few. Most o' the other ones I either pissed off or scared away haha."

joey replied to him with "thats how i made all my friends."

he then heard the corpal say as he pulled out some pictures "War does alot to someone, kid. Especially if you've seen half of the things I seen in Japan. Ya know why we're here private? I mean fightin' this war?" he had a serious tone to him.

joey thought to him self, why was i here? why am i not playing football in college now? he replied quietly "i guess becaus eof the tyrany of hitller and things. some friends of mine joined as soon as they heard about pearl harbor." joey pulled out a picture of his girlfreind. then a picture of his team and him in the front holding a plaque stateing "all time rushing yards leader" he handed them to the corpal.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

"I guess because of Hitler and things. Some friends of mine joined as soon as they heard about Pearl Harbor." A fair answer Robert thought to himself. "Well, to be honest with ya kid, I'm not one for patriotism, well at first I was. Things changed, over on that Island of Hell. I'd never felt hate for someone or one kind of people before. Now it's a whole different story. Dirty little nips don't deserve a quick death. A bullet for 'ems a waste I see it." He got somewhat angry with his last sentence, but cooled down as the Private handed him some pictures and an award. 'All Time Rushing Yards' said the trophy. He examined the picture closely seeing all the faces of the boys, then took note of the girl in the picture. Pro'ly not even twenty yet. He thought to himself.

Next he looked at the trophy. He chuckled to himself as he thought of something. "Why exactly didn't they just print 'Most Likely To Be A Negro" on it? The racist comments never stopped with Robert. He wasn't a racist or a biggot. He was more of someone who made fun of what you couldn't change, unless it really bothered someone. Robert wasn;t completely heartless.

"Pretty good lookin' girl you got there? How'd a dog faced kid like you get her?" He said with a joking smile. He realized how angry he could make people, so he took Stuart's words to heart. "Well, she ain't really my girl, but we've been really good friends for, well since I could remember." He said as he showed Joey the picture of his family with the girl with raven black hair and a small bow on the side. "Yeah, can't tell ya how much I miss 'em."

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

"Well, to be honest with ya kid, I'm not one for patriotism, well at first I was. Things changed, over on that Island of Hell. I'd never felt hate for someone or one kind of people before. Now it's a whole different story. Dirty little nips don't deserve a quick death. A bullet for 'ems a waste I see it." joey took that to heart until he thought about it. it was just an everyday attack that was succseful.

"i aggree." said joey as he starred at the plaque.

"Why exactly didn't they just print 'Most Likely To Be A Negro" on it?" said the corpal. joey laughed very loadly as he took pictures back nad put them in his pack under his bunk. joey was bagining to like this guy. they had some things in coman.

"Pretty good lookin' girl you got there? How'd a dog faced kid like you get her?" He said with a joking smile. "Well, she ain't really my girl, but we've been really good friends for, well since I could remember." He said as he showed me the picture of his family with the girl with raven black hair and a small bow on the side. "Yeah, can't tell ya how much I miss 'em."

joey looked at the picture. he thought about his family as he thought about his girl friend back at home. joey probably felt the same way as the corpal did. it was then when joeys imaturaty kicked in a little bit "did you bang her before you came here?" he had a crooked little half smile on his face. like always joey came up with this "i know i did" he luaghed.

[Cpl. Robert Anderson]

He heard the question and it kind of caught him off guard. Oh yeah. I'm still talkin' to a thirteen year old trapped in a soldiers body. He thought to himself. "Well kid, let's just say if I did anythin' more than give her a kiss before I left, I assure you wouldn't be here right now. Her daddy's one tough Hispanic." He gave a small grin. "Yeah, she was one amazing girl though." He said remembering her beautiful smile, her beautiful name, her beautiful everything. The thing he most remembered was her name. The name that would haunt him until he could finally say it to her face again.

"Now you see why I have such a hate for my enemies. They tryin' to take everythin' I love away from me. And I take personal offense at that. He had a small evil half grin on his face now. "I haven't even begun to repay 'em for what they've done."

The feeling passed over after a few minutes. He took the pictures and put them back in his pocket and was trying to think of better things to do than sit here and talk about times past, and times to come. "So kid, you up for doin' somethin'?

[PFC. Joey Toniatti]

"Well kid, let's just say if I did anythin' more than give her a kiss before I left, I assure you wouldn't be here right now. Her daddy's one tough Hispanic." He gave a small grin. "Yeah, she was one amazing girl though." joey thought about his girl and her dad. the same way as the corpals girls dad. wow he thought.

"Now you see why I have such a hate for my enemies. They tryin' to take everythin' I love away from me. And I take personal offense at that. He had a small evil half grin on his face now. "I haven't even begun to repay 'em for what they've done."

joey thought to himself "yeah i guess i understand now. it all makes sense."

"So kid, you up for doin' somethin'?" said the corpal.

come to think of it, joey was up to doing something and by the meens of this guy it was going to be fun. joey replied to the corpal with a crooked half smile that he always had and said "yeah lets go do sumthin'" he replied to the corpal. joey was very excited.