Why We Fight?
Chapter One: It's a Long Way to Tip Your Granny...
Camp Toccoa, Georgia
Captain David Stevens was watching a newsreel in the officers' mess hall. The Japanese had captured Singapore from the British and had had great success in the Pacific. The Marines were shown fighting on a far off island, and a few pictures were shown from North Africa. General Rommel had made a retreat and the Allies had advanced. David was watching the newsreel with a keen eye, thinking of his unit and how they would survive in combat.
The Allies' High Command had learned from the Westminster League: do not send a rag tag groug of supers to the field. Amateurs will get killed, and more letters will be sent to mourning relatives, or worse, the Axis would get an edge in the "arms race" of enhanced individuals. The League had engaged the Germans' own "all-star" team, and according to the two survivors, the Swiss siblings the OSS had recruited from Britain, the team destroyed the Hydragruppe compleately, but were annihilated by a SS company in the end. They had been holed in a French chateau, and the company had assaulted the building, taking it room by room.
The Task Force had been training for the last couple months rigorously, and they had even been given their own barracks to use. It was only a small building, built quickly and very ascetic by design, but it served its purpose. They had separate dormitories for the women and the men of the unit, for the sake of some privacy, but in the end, they lived together. The unit used it mostly for sleeping, anyhow. The unit had had many lessons and plenty of training all across the Camp Toccoa, ranging from explosives to small arms and hand-to-hand combat. David had personally taken care of their PT training from the beginning. They still had to work their camaraderie, though. They weren't an easy-going bunch.
They were a mixed bag of individuals, to say the least. Taken from different nationalities and branches of service, they truly were a melting pot. Some of them didn't have much combat experience or training, but they were getting closer being deployed to their first mission together. Their training would be complete by summer, if the OSS didn't get trigger happy.
And they probably will.As the picture ended, David walked outside. The air was still chilly, but the sun was shining, and it was a perfect spring morning. There were some patches of snow on the ground, but it was good enough for David. They were going to run up the Currahee. Again. The unit didn't like it, but they had to do it, for the sake of their fitness and training. He walked towards their barracks. A few privates saluted him, and David saluted them back. He knew there were some rumours concerning the Task Force circulating in the camp. That they were a bunch of freaks of nature. Perhaps they were, but they were his freaks and comrades-in-arms.
David was walking towards the unit's barracks, and a voice called out "Captain David Stevens, I presume?". David snapped out of his thoughts and turned towards the voice. A middle-aged man, looking gaunt faced and lean, almost malnourished and dressed in black clothes, approached him. He was wearing big, aviator-styled sunglasses.
"Yes, precisely. And whom I might meet?" he answered, acting cautiously.
"Special Agent Richard Hanks, FBI." The man offered a hand. "I am on a business of utmost national security, and I may have heard that your unit of... extraordinary talents might help with this trouble I am having."
"We might", David said. He looked around and asked softly. "What is it about?"
"I will tell about it later with more details, Captain, but there's a spook at loose in New York, and he might be someone like you." The agent spoke now with almost a whisper to David. "There are too many ears here, and the whole situation is delicate at best, but I'll be briefing you and your unit after lunch. Colonel Clarke knows already about my situation. I'll be seeing you later."
The agent departed, walking with a fast pace from David. David watched the man with curiosity and alarm, for some reason the person had unsettled him.
Guess I'll learn more about him after lunch.David walked quickly the rest of the way to the barracks and entered. The unit had a small break between their training activities, and they were resting in the barracks. Lunch still was a good time away, though, and the Task Force would run the Currahee. "Attention!" David said, relying on his commanding tone more than on volume. He waited a couple seconds before continuing. "We are going to meet a very important person today after lunch, but before we do that, we are going to run the Currahee, so grab your PT gear and assemble outside."
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