Free Ardennes Sniper: A World War II Thriller by David Healey Page A

showed up just in time to be in the middle of a big goddamned fight. Why are you here, Jolie?"
      She took her time answering. “There is nothing for me at home, Cole. Most of my family and friends are gone, thanks to the Germans. I want to see this war through to the end. If I can, I will go all the way to Berlin. I will dance on Hitler’s grave.”
    “Something tells me that you just might.”
    She walked along in a silence for a moment. "Are you sure he is still out there? The Ghost Sniper?"
    "I don't know who else shoots a Russian rifle and smokes them fancy cigarettes, so it's a good bet it's our old friend."
    "He is no friend of mine. This time, you need to shoot him."
    "I reckon I will, if I get half a chance. That is, if he don't shoot me first. This Ghost Sniper is a tough customer."
    "So are you, Micajah Cole. A real hillbilly, no? This time, you show him who is the better shot."
    "If I get the chance, I'll only have to show him once."

    • • •

    Fifty feet ahead, Vaccaro was filling in the Kid about the sniper squad. "Let me give you the lay of the land, so to speak. The unit you were with—what did you and those poor bastards do?"
    "We were artillery support mostly—finding positions, moving munitions, observing fire."
    "So you didn't actually shoot at anything yourself?"
    "No, that wasn't my job."
    "Well, your job description just changed, at least temporarily. You're in a sniper squad now. Hang on to that gun Cole gave you. Like he said, we'll find you a rifle when we can."
    "I used to hunt a lot. Squirrels and rabbits mostly. I was a good shot with a twenty-two."
    "There you go, Kid."
    "Tell me about Cole. It was nice of him to give me his pistol, but he seems like a real cracker."
    Vaccaro laughed. "You don't know the half of it. And if I was you, which fortunately I ain't, I would not go around calling him a cracker. You do not want to screw with Cole. Just be glad he's on our side. I can joke around with him because he's used to me by now, but your best bet is to keep your mouth shut around him and just do what he says. If it wasn’t for Cole, we’d of been dead a long time ago."
    "What about the lieutenant?"
    "Mulholland? He's all right for an officer, but half the time it's really Cole who calls the shots. The problem with the lieutenant is that he's got a little too much Sunday school teacher in him. He likes to play by the rules."
    "And you don't?"
    "Hey, I'm just a guy from Brooklyn who wants to survive the war. My only rule is, ‘Don't get killed.’ "
    "The others?"
    "Rowe and McNulty have only been with us for a few weeks. They ain't bad, but they ain't stone-cold killers like Cole."
    The Kid glanced back at Jolie and Cole. "What's with the French girl? She and Cole seem awfully close."
    "Yeah, so you better steer clear of her if you don't want Cole's boot up your ass. Jolie is a tough one herself. She's one of those French Resistance fighters. You know, a Machi. She absolutely hates Germans."
    "She seems all right. She tried to keep me from freezing to death back there."
    "Hell, Kid, you looked like a lost puppy. What did you expect? I was ready to wrap you in a blanket myself."
    "Sorry." The Kid looked down at the snow, his shoulders slumped.
    "Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about. You survived a massacre. It's those Krauts I've got a problem with. Now, let's go get even."
    "I don't know. Those SS guys—"
    "Don't worry about them. Just stick with us and keep your head down, Kid. That, and keep your socks dry. You get wet feet in this cold and it's as good as taking a bullet.”

CHAPTER 10

    The German column rolled into the next village beyond Baugnez. The place was little more than a scattering of buildings around a wide place in the road, but the hamlet was large enough to have a handful of residences, a boulangerie, a post office, a school house, and a tavern. In the snow, the modest stone buildings had a Christmas village look about them, like a scene from a whimsical