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“I got rank here long as the skipper is, um, off his head,” Guttierez says stubbornly

“All due respect, Guttierez, but this is my patrol,” Rio says Her voice is soft but all the more definite for it “I can’t force you to leave, but I’ Stra—Fish, whatever the hell ant to call hi out of here” Without a pause she turns to her detail “Petersen, try to raise someone and report this in Tell the to have to use your rifles to make a stretcher”

In ten ed that they have the surviving crew, and Cat and Geer have stretched canvas salvaged from the bomber to fashion a crude stretcher They are just carefully rolling Strand onto the stretcher when Jack says, “Shh!”

Everyone freezes Every ear strains Andthrough the woods

A terse whisper “Jack! Cat! Check it out”

Rio feels she should go, feels it powerfully, but that’s not what Cole has taught her She’s in charge, and thatothers into harm’s way

Cat retrieves her rifle,

and she and Jack plunge into the deeper darkness beneath the trees

“No onethe pistol in Guttierez’s hand, she adds, “And no one shoots until I say so”

She looks in every direction, taking in the terrain in quick glances The lake defines their northern flank with a gravel beach mere inches wide To their west is the trail of broken trees, and beyond that either safety or a Gerainst the Gela beachhead And east is where the sounds ofmen are

South it is

Trees, some tall by Sicilian standards, run in every direction Hard soil No ditches or depressions Strand unable to walk They can fight fro for an opportunity to flatten the woods and kill half the fish in the lake

“Guttierez, Joe, any chance of getting one of your uns out?”

“Sure,” Joe says, nodding, and moves briskly toward the plane Guttierez has no choice but to follow

“Geer?” She jerks her head toward the west “Drop back, take a look in those fallen branches and trees, see if there’s a place we can fight”