Part 19 (1/2)

”We're under attack from the south!” Brodermann said, jumping to his feet.

Hoffman ran for the office and reached it just as an aide opened it from the other side. The door impacted with Hoffman's nose and knocked him sprawling to the floor, his beak b.l.o.o.d.y. The aide stood frozen, horrified at what he'd done.”Idiot!” Brodermann yelled at the young man. ”Fool! You've injured the Field Marshal. What the h.e.l.l do you want?”

”We ... we're being attacked from the west, sir!”

”From the west? What the h.e.l.l are you blathering about? Are you deaf as well as stupid? We're being attacked from the south. G.o.dd.a.m.n it, can't you hear?”

”From the west, too, sir,” the aide blurted. Field Marshal 220.

Hoffman was just getting unceremoniously to his feet, grabbing at a chair for support, his nose clearly broken and spurting blood. ”The garrison just radioed. They cannot hold and are falling back to our position.”

”My no' is 'oken,” Jesus Hoffman said. ”s.h.i.+t!”

A fat colonel came running into the outer office and tried to stop. The floor of the old home was slick tile, and his leather-soled boots could find no traction. He slammed into the aide, the aide slammed into Brodermann, and Brodermann slammed into Field Marshal Hoffman. All of them went slipping and sliding and tumbling to the floor. For a few seconds, it looked like the Three Stooges meets Danny Kaye.

”We're under ma.s.sive attack from the north!” the colonel hollered.

”Get off me, you elephant!” Brodermann yelled.

'”et off of 'e!” Hoffman shouted, spraying everybody with blood.

An SS officer came running in. He stood for a moment in the doorway, his mouth hanging open and his face registering his shock.

”What the h.e.l.l do you want?” Brodermann screamed.

”Ah ... why, ah, General Schleyer says he is under attack at the San Antonio airport. Why are you all on the floor? What has happened to the Field Marshal?”

Captain Blickle came running in. He blinked at the scene on the office floor. He shook his head and decided it wasn't any of his business. For the moment, at least. ”Scouts from General Mohnhaupt's Seventh Division say Rebels are lined up north to south in ma.s.sive numbers along Highway 281. They have begun sh.e.l.ling his command.” He paused. ”What are all you people doing on the floor?”

221.

Before anyone could reply-not that anyone was about to-several artillery rounds landed a few hundred yards from Hoffman's HQ. The explosions blew out all the windows on that side of the house and tore off part of the old roof. Captain Blickle joined the others on the floor.

”Odd.a.m.nit!” Hoffman yelled. '”Et off me!”

The rattle of automatic weapons could now be clearly heard.”Rebels!” someone outside screamed. ”Thousands of them. El Lobo is leading the charge.”

Brodermann lurched to his feet. ”If I hear El Lobo one more time,” he shouted. ”I'll shoot the son of a b.i.t.c.h who said it.”

Together, they all managed to get Jesus Hoffman to his unsteady feet and out the door. ”Get the Field Marshal to safety,” Brodermann ordered.

”Where?” Captain Blickle demanded, looking around him at the panicked troops, confusion and the exploding artillery rounds.

”How the h.e.l.l should I know?” Brodermann shouted. ”Just get him out of here. Move, G.o.dd.a.m.nit!”

Blickle and the still nose-bleeding Hoffman rushed to a waiting car and jumped in the back seat. The driver sped off. Brodermann looked around for some of his SS troops, then realized they were miles to the north and probably helping contain the charge of Rebels up there.

”d.a.m.nit!” he swore. ”Who would have guessed Raines would do something like this?”

Brodermann finally and forever, in the span of only a few seconds, realized that one simply could not second-guess Ben Raines. If you made ready for the norm, he would throw something at you completely off the wall.

222.

Expect something totally unorthodox, and Raines would hand you something right out of a military textbook.

Then Brodermann looked on in amazement as the Rebels began slowing and stopping their vehicles, troops dismounting and engaging the Blacks.h.i.+rts in hand-to-hand combat. ”No!” he shouted. ”This simply cannot be!”

But it was happening, and Brodermann suddenly got that message and looked around for any officer. He saw one. He jerked his pistol out of the holster and tried to rally the panicked troops. One tried to run past him, all wild-eyed and scared, and Brodermann shot the man. That got the attention of several people. ”Throw up a line!” he shouted.

”G.o.dd.a.m.n you, listen to me. Throw up a line and hold it.”

He got the attention of several sergeants, and they quickly began to shout and kick some order back into the troops. A line was thrown up and slowly some semblance of soldiering began to take place. The fighting was now going to be house to house and very close up.

Ben jumped over the sandbags around a machine gun emplacement, jerked the dead body away from an unfamiliar but heavy machine gun, and st.i.tched a deuce and a half from radiator to midway of the bed. Every third or fourth round loaded into the belt must have been incendiary, for the truck exploded and sent body parts flying all over the place.

Jersey and Corrie jumped into the pit with him and Cooper began helping with the belt while Corrie was trying to raise other battalions for a battle a.s.sessment.

Ben grinned at her. ”When you get Ike, tell him we're having fun downhere and wish he could join us!”

Corrie ignored him. She'd been with Ben for years 223.

and nothing he ever did surprised her. She finally yelled, ”It was a total surprise, General. All battalions on all fronts reporting we really caught them with their pants down.”

”Casualties?” Ben yelled, after cutting down three running Blacks.h.i.+rts.

He rested his hands from the heavy jarring of the machine gun.

”Very light.”

”Give me a status report on conditions right here, Come,” Ben requested.

After a moment, she said, ”We're stretched out along a line approximately three miles wide. Artillery wants to know should they sh.e.l.l the town?”

”Negative,” Ben quickly told her. ”h.e.l.l, we're on the outskirts of the d.a.m.n town. Tell the batteries to advance to within a few miles of us and set up and wait for orders.”

That done, Ben said, ”Come, give the orders to go over the top, people.

Let's go, let's go, let's go!” And he jumped out of the sandbagged pit and took off running.

”Jesus!” Cooper said, and took off after him, Jersey and Beth and Corrie right on his heels.

Brodermann took one look at the advancing Rebels and cursed as he shook his head. He knew with a soldier's sixth sense that to stand and face that would be pointless. ”Fall back!” he shouted. ”Fall back to those woods north of town. Move. Quickly, now.”

”Secure the town and then advance no further,” Ben panted the orders, squatting down behind a brick house.

When he had caught his breath, and Corrie had issued the orders, Ben said, ”Set me up a CP and rig for long range transmission, Corrie. Tell supply to get our 224.

uniforms ready for us. From tiger stripe to desert cammie. We're back in business!”

When the major five-front offensive was launched by the Rebels in Texas, those Rebel contingents in California, Arizona, and New Mexico rushed the Blacks.h.i.+rts on the other side of the border, while General Payon's guerilleros struck them from the south and the wors.h.i.+pers of n.a.z.ism were caught by surprise. No prisoners were taken.