[ WWII AU ] Chantez, compagnons, dans la nuit la liberté

[from_the_outside]

There's nothing strange about Yvette Rheaume or the credentials she provides to Monsieur Lavigne when she arrives to replace Amelie. "Her mother is ill," Lavigne explains to the girl. "You will fill in for her duties until she returns, yes?"

Yes, of course. And it's a relief when the girl proves both capable and well-mannered; he simply cannot afford to force Herr Schneider to wait. If the facility were to cancel their monthly orders, he'd lose hundreds, thousands of francs in profit, money which assuages his guilt at assisting the enemy. He explains the process to the girl as they ride in a jeep towards the facility, and impresses on her the need for perfect discretion. "I will expect you to take clear and comprehensive notes," he reminds her. "We cannot miss any opportunity to re-supply."

"Yes, sir," she promises, and dutifully notes his instructions.

His ears are ringing by the time they reach the facility and Herr Schneider steps outside to greet them, his sharp eyes resting for a moment on Yvette. "Who is this lovely creature?" he asks, and Lavigne hastens to assure him of her loyalty and credentials. The German nods and politely ushers them inside. Lavigne is too relieved and too focused on the robust order to come to pay much mind to the way the man keeps half an eye on Yvette.

But she doesn't miss it. Not a single glance.

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

They'd moved into position under the cover of darkness and settled in to wait. Bucky finds that part of it easier than the others, he knows, but they've all gotten used to it. Timing matters, and never more so than in a situation like this.

He's alone on the ridge, with a good view of the main entrance, the courtyard beyond through the small square windows, the vehicle shipping gates, and the side passages that they've identified - both the official ones and the ones from the older structure that the factory's been built in, which the Resistance cell had passed along. Steve and the main strike force are on the other side, ready to come over the top and in. Dernier and Morita are at the decoy location with the charges Dernier'd rigged - either the explosion or the sound of Bucky's rifle will be the signal for the attack.

They're all hoping it won't be the rifle, because if he's the one that has to start this dance, it means something's gone very, very wrong.

Bucky lies perfectly still, blending in with the cover around him, and keeps close watch above and through his scope.

[from_the_outside]

This guy's going to be first against the wall, if she can manage it. Lavigne is a smarmy opportunistic war profiteer who's sold out his country and people and he has a real problem with keeping his hands to himself.

But he's not as sharp as Schneider is. They'd known there would be some suspicion aimed her way as a new face, but she and the cell leaders had banked on them largely overlooking her due to her gender. Schneider, though... he might be a problem.

She keeps her expression open and neutral as she trails them, dutifully taking notes of all the supplies which will need to be ordered – or which would, if this place weren't about to become a pile of smoking rubble.

[nerves_of_ice]

Everything looks to be business as usual, from what he can see. Bucky's just glad it's not an overly sunny day; it helps with minimizing even the smallest chance of anyone catching a flare from his scope. He keeps the weapon still anyway and sweeps the area below with his naked eye.

A couple of guards walk over to the shipping door, looking as if they're preparing for it to open. Bucky's glance narrows. Is that usual? Intel had been mixed on how much trust is reposed in Lavigne, but this was supposed to be a supply assessment, not an actual shipping restock, they'd thought.

[from_the_outside]

The one good thing she can say about this facility using prisoners as labor is that, once you get inside, it is really fucking obvious that they're using prisoners as labor. She hears muttered insults in English and French as they pass by the assembly lines; most of them murmured once Schneider and Lavigne are out of earshot.

She's almost past a section where prisoners are busy loading what look like shells into a large, straw-padded crate, when she hears a hissed whisper in her direction. "Miss," murmurs a gangly young man, straw-colored hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. He glances at the foreman, busy on the other side of the line. "You speak English? Parlez-vous anglais?"

There's no way she can give him hope of a rescue, not without blowing her own cover; she shies away, shaking her head, and shifts her glance as the foreman looks up. She hurries after Schneider and Lavigne, swallowing the fury that rises, stinging, in her chest.

[nerves_of_ice]

It's not a supply shipment. Not one of Lavigne's, anyway; that much is obvious when the three trucks rumble into view, heading toward the gates. The sound's loud enough that he knows the rest of the Howling Commandos will hear it, and sure enough, it's maybe two minutes before he sees Steve's helmet ease into view - low enough not to be seen from below, but easy enough for him to spot from his height since he knows where to look.

He gives a cautious hand signal of his own: Hold position, then follows it with a second, Prepare to move.

[from_the_outside]

"You are busy today, I see," Lavigne notes, as the prisoners stack crate after crate of shells and other, probably just as unsavory, items on dollies and wheel them towards the end of the yawning warehouse area.

Schneider shrugs. "The more weapons and ammunition we can ship, the better," he says, and leads them back toward the entry. "I trust you have all you need?"

"Yes, yes," says Lavigne. "Yvette, my dear, give Herr Schneider a copy of the list, will you?"

She tears off a duplicate and offers it to Schneider, who casts a cold glance over it before nodding. "It had better not be late, Lavigne," he warns, as they step outside. "We have quotas to meet."

Sharon edges away from the men as they talk and takes out a hand mirror and lipstick from her purse. Three flashes of sunlight from the mirror as she re-applies her lipstick towards the place where the Howling Commandos are waiting; three more towards Bucky high on the ridge in case they missed her signal: prisoners confirmed.

[nerves_of_ice]

He curses silently as Sharon's signal flashes. It's not like they hadn't suspected, though, and he knows every one of the squad is remembering Azzano right now.

It doesn't terminate the mission, but it adds to the care they'll need to take. Still, at least they know.

Steve signals confirmation back to him - they'd seen the flash too, then, as planned - and follows it with an order for him to hold while they adjust to the new deployment. As he does, the shipping gate gives a truly awful grinding sound and winches itself jerkily upward to receive the truck convoy.

It's an opportunity. They'll have as long as it takes for the trucks to be loaded to take advantage of it.

[from_the_outside]

Lavigne motions for her to follow as he bids Schneider farewell, and courteously holds the car door open for her to step inside. Back at the entryway, Schneider summons a lackey with a sharp tip of his head.

"Follow them," he murmurs. "I don't trust that Frenchman. I think perhaps it's time our partnership came to its conclusion."

The lackey nods and waits for the car to pull away before summoning a few others, all of whom slide onto motorcycles and follow at a casual pace.

[nerves_of_ice]

Lavigne and Sharon clear the facility in the car, and Bucky breathes easily for the half-second it takes him to signal that to the rest - and then a small team departs after them, and he feels his gut clench.

It could be a coincidence, but he doesn't like the timing. Not at all.

Even as he thinks it, Dernier's decoy explosion goes up, causing shouts of alarm, and Bucky sights and fires in the same instant.

Three precise shots. Two to the shipping gate mechanisms, freezing the doors open, and the third to the tire of the lead motorcycle.

[from_the_outside]

The muffled whump of an explosion bursts through the air behind them, and Lavigne half-turns, his eyes wide. "C'est quoi – " he starts, only to cough a small sound of surprise as Sharon slams him in the back of the head, leaving him slumped in his seat.

The driver curses, but it chokes off against the knife she holds to his throat in the next instant. "Arrête la voiture," she tells him. He slows to a halt and lifts shaking hands from the wheel.

"S'il te plaît ne me tue pas," he whimpers. He's not a soldier or a guard, only a driver. She rolls her eyes and tosses him some rope. "Tie up your boss," she offers. "And we'll see."

[nerves_of_ice]

Two of the three remaining cycles swerve around the first and keep going. The third skids sideways as the wreckage of the first crashes into it and goes down in a tangle. Bucky holds his fire back from them and swings his rifle sight back to cover the entryway and shipping gates as a second explosion goes up on the other side of the facility.

By now, HYDRA's agents should be thinking that they're trying to break in from the rear. Steve and the others should be pouring down from the top any second now, and it's on him to make sure they're not met by trouble when they do.

[from_the_outside]

The sounds of the battle are clear as she finishes tying up the driver and shoves him into the backseat with Lavigne.

... maybe a little too clear, as the roar of motorcycles hums between the trees, getting louder and louder. She ducks around the side of the car and retrieves the sidearm that had been stashed in the wheel well, the sets herself behind the car's body, muzzle pointed at the road and every nerve alight and ready.

[nerves_of_ice]

Steve's first over the rise, the rest of the squad hot on his heels as he drops down into the open space and slings the shield through the loading dock, then charges in after.

Bucky continues to cover from above as the first prisoners start to clear the door away from what's going on inside, running in a group back and away from the facility.

The front door opens and Schneider backs through it into the clear, obviously intending to make a break for it. Bucky sets his jaw and fires a single shot to the base of his spine.

If they can take him alive, they could use the intel - but the lives of the squad and the prisoners are his priority.

[from_the_outside]

The Colt in her hands barks as the first of the motorcycles comes humming over the road. The driver ducks as the bullet sparks off the body of the machine and reaches for his own sidearm as the second bike rockets toward them.

Sharon breathes out and focuses, squeezing off another two shots, one of which finds purchase in the rider's shoulder, sending him swerving toward the trees at the side of the road. Inside the car, Lavinge and his driver make muffled noises of panic, squirming at each shot.

"Oh, shut up," Sharon mutters, taking aim at the second rider. "Don't distract me."

[nerves_of_ice]

Another explosion rocks the facility from the inside, sending up a truly hideous plume of foul black smoke. Looks like someone's found the ammo preparations center, Bucky figures, and picks off an agent that tries to run one of the trucks out of the loading dock. He takes out the tires next for good measure, and keeps one eye on Schneider for any signs the man's going to be exceptionally stupid.

A glint through the small factory window catches his attention - one of HYDRA's, drawing a bead on someone--

The rifle cracks again and glass shatters. On the other side of the window, the HYDRA agent drops.

[from_the_outside]

Air hisses and the car groans and shifts as the second rider takes out one of the tires. Sharon replies with a careful shot to his front wheel that sends him skidding to the ground, just as the first rider wrestles control of his bike back once more.

"Hey," Sharon yells to Lavigne and the driver. "Either of you happen to have an extra magazine in there? No?"

They stare at her with wide eyes and she grimaces, then squeezes off a shot that punctures the first bike's fuel tank, sending a dribbling stream of gas onto the road.

[nerves_of_ice]

Things are getting quieter inside, which either means that they're moving deeper into the facility or that the situation is wrapping up from active fighting to the aftermath, he thinks, as another knot of prisoners makes their way around the rear of the trucks and into the dubious shelter of the trees with the rest. They're smart enough not to try to run too far but instead are huddling up, for the most part, save for a few who are keeping watch and looking for anything they can use in defense. One's collected a crowbar, he notices, and another scans the open space before making a break to try to strip the sidearm from one of the fallen guards.

Bucky keeps an eye on them too, just in case, and waits for the signal to descend and join the mop-up.

[from_the_outside]

God, she misses her suit. And her thigh holster. And her extra magazines.

The first rider abandons his leaking bike and squeezes off three shots, each of which shatters one of the car windows as she takes cover behind the vehicle. Instead of looking up and over the body, she shifts lower and to the side, then leans out from behind the exhaust pipe and fires. The rider collapses with a scream, his right knee turned into a mess of blood and bone, as the second rider staggers up from his wrecked cycle.

He looks dazed, which is good. She's starting to run out of bullets.

[nerves_of_ice]

The ear-splitting sound of Dugan's whistle comes floating out of the factory. Bucky scans the area once more, then stows the rifle and pulls his carbine instead before making his way from cover down the side of the ridge to the prisoners.

"Hold here for a second," he tells them. The one with the crowbar looks at his uniform jacket and tries to straighten to attention. "Yes, sir--"

"At ease," Bucky says. "This isn't over yet." He leaves them gathered there and makes his way over to check the fallen, confirming each kill, then circles to Schneider.

[from_the_outside]

The final rider, cursing in German, dodges his way closer to the wrecked and bullet-ridden body of the car. Her first shot misses by a bare inch; the second jams the Colt as a cartridge sticks.

There's no time to think about it. She throws the sidearm past the edge of the car, letting it skitter on the ground, then is up and vaulting over the trunk in the next second to take advantage of the way his head swivels to follow the gun's trajectory. One foot lands on his shoulder, shoving him back; the other follows in a snapping kick that catches him in the jaw.

He bellows and stumbles back, and she's on him in the next second, a flurry of strikes thudding into him until at last he's on the ground and she's breathing hard, hair and clothes mussed and rumpled.

[nerves_of_ice]

Schneider's not in great shape, no surprise there, but he's alive. Bucky removes his sidearm and gives him a quick check for weapons, then beckons to crowbar guy to join him as he studies HYDRA's fallen officer.

The man bares his teeth and spits at him. "Cut off one head, two more--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, heard it before," Bucky interrupts. "Don't worry. We're gonna cut off all the heads before we're through. Count on it."

[from_the_outside]

Neither of her assailants are dead, but they're not exactly in the best shape, either. She digs out more rope and binds them – the one with the blown-out knee mercifully stops screaming once he passes out – then makes sure Lavigne and the driver haven't somehow managed to wriggle free.

"In the original iteration of this plan, I had control of a drivable car," she tells them, as they stare at her over their gags. "But I guess we're just going to have to wait to get picked up."

[nerves_of_ice]

"What's your name, soldier?" Bucky asks as the crowbar-carrying man joins him. "Jenkins, sir. Private Mark Jenkins."

Bucky looks up at him. "Okay, Jenkins. Keep our prisoner here alive and under watch so we can track down the rest of his buddies, you get me?" He makes it clear enough so that the others can hear, just so no one gets any ideas about getting some of their own back."

"Yes, sir!" Bucky gives him a tired grin. "Hold the line," he says, and moves to the gate, then clears it before ducking inside to take in the situation.

[marvel_npc]

Gabe and Jim are moving through the ranks of prisoners, releasing them as they go, as Steve sets the shield into its harness on his back. He half-turns as Bucky comes in, and gives his best friend a nod. "Cleaned them up pretty good," he says. "It wouldn't have been so great if this shipment had left the facility."

He glances around before looking back at Bucky. "I lost sight of Schneider. Did he get out?"

[nerves_of_ice]

“Not far,” Bucky promises. “Wounded him and brought him down. Figured we’d want to question him if we could. He’s out front under guard by one of the prisoners - a Private Jenkins.”

He looks around too. Things seem pretty well in hand. No Zola, but this’ll be another punch in the eye for HYDRA, and that’s always good. Bucky turns back to Steve. “Schneider sent a team to follow Lavigne and Sharon when they left, “ he reports. “I brought half of them down, but couldn’t get them all before they made the curve.”