A luger in his right hand, another two in his belt, Max listened at the door to what the Germans were saying outside after the loud crash.

"What the! Quick! Check that out now! You two cover him!"
Thinking this might be the distraction he needed he reached out and slowly turned the knob to the door and then cracked it open hoping that the Germans were looking anywhere but at his door.

(If that is the case, if they are looking at Brutal or his direction and not at his door; carry on with the next)

Seeing the Germans facing away he yanked open the door and grabbing another luger out of his belt with his left hand, he stepped out in the hallway and started firing at the Germans both guns blazing. He hoped the sudden firing and surprise of his assault would give him the advantage. If any turned a gun towards him he would dive to the side still firing both guns. (Think John Woo films. )

(Now if the Germans are approaching his door and not looking away, he will not do that but will step to the side of the door, not behind it, and wait for one of them to open it; in which case he will shoot the first one through.)

From the back of the group, Corban heard Brutal curse, the trap door slam and shouting in German. Brutal cursing was normal, but it took on a different tone when he was falling through a trap door.

There were people between him and the trap, so Corban couldn't jump to Brutal's aid right away. What he could do was prepare for his role as team sharp-shooter.

If space allows he will see if he can line up a shot on the door at the end of the hall. (Does he have any inclination if the German voices are coming from down the pit or behind the door?)

If he can't see much through the rest of his team, he will instead move to the wall and try to keep guard on the rear - meaning both back up the stairs and down into the water. Noise could be a bad thing.

Either way he is listening carefully both for commands from the officers and better location information on the Germans.

As the six of them quickly moved down the stairs, with Brutal in front followed by Romo, Reid, Hoffstetter, McGuiness and Luke it became clear that there was only one way to go. Coming to the bottom of the steps Brutal opened the door found there and still in the same order the six entered into a ten foot wide corridor going north for 20 feet and ending in another door. The hall was dark and musty smelling, with no electric lights strung at all.

Brutal with his Thompson at the ready took only two steps before the floor beneath him opened up and he was gone. "What the Fff......." he cried as he falls into the pit trap.
Before Romo could move to try and see and help him, the sound of someone calling out in German.

---

As the six of them quickly moved down the stairs, with Brutal in front followed by Romo, Reid, Hoffstetter, McGuiness and Luke it became clear that there was only one way to go. Coming to the bottom of the steps Brutal opened the door found there and still in the same order the six entered into a ten foot wide corridor going north for 20 feet and ending in another door. The hall was dark and musty smelling, with no electric lights strung at all.

Brutal with his Thompson at the ready took only two steps before the floor beneath him opened up and he was gone. "What the Fff......." he cried as he falls into the pit trap.
Before Romo could move to try and help him, the sound of someone calling out in German was heard from beyond the door to thier front.

"Was zum! Schnell! Prüfen Sie, ob Sie jetzt! Sie zwei Cover ihn!"("What the! Quick! Check that out now! You two cover him!")
(Ok this is assuming that what RP Noob posted about his actions happens.)
Suddenly as if on cue shots rang out from the door before them and Romo could tell from the lapse between shots they were from a pair of pistols, possibly Lugers, being fired rapidly. With a large hole in front of them and clearly a battle taking place within the room before them Romo thought quick. Clearly there were enemy troops beyond the door and just as clear was that they were shooting at something, what was unclear was just what that something was.

Looking behind him Romo signaled everyone behind him to fall back beyond the door they had entered through. Seeing Corban setting up his sniper rifle he again signaled everyone to lie down on their bellies to give the sniper a clear shot. Then slowly crawling along the trap doors edge, his Thompson slung over his back, a .45 auto in its place in hand and pointed at the far door, he looked over into the trap doors pit...........

(OOC: OK now that my full post is up you may want to edit your post Odyson as the only one moving forward to check on Brutal is Romo)

Posted on 2011-12-13 at 03:58:30.
Edited on 2011-12-13 at 04:17:35 by TannTalas

Brutal steps forward with machine gun at ready. He takes two steps and suddenly the floor opens up beneath him with a loud crash as the false floor swings open beneath his feet. "What the Fff......." he cries as he falls into the pit trap.
Romo stopped short and Jack nearly rammed into him. He heard Jake fall into the pit and quickly reached for his flashlight.

Before anyone can scramble over to see if brutal is okay, there is the sound of someone calling out in German.

"Was zum! Schnell! Prüfen Sie, ob Sie jetzt! Sie zwei Cover ihn!"

„Damn Brutal, you’ve stepped in it again.“

Doc knew he still plenty of parachute cord in his pack to reach His mate but he didn’t know if they had time to haul that big lug outta there. “Duck and cover guy, sounds like you’re getting company.”

Doc scouted the perimeter of the hall to find a place tie off the rope, “Gotta save that boy.”

Sarges movements caught Doc's eye and he quickly understood the hand signals, only it hurt like hell to get down on his belly. Crawling would take a lot of shoulder movement and that just what he didn't have. Letting out a groan Doc slide to the floor. "Geez, now I know where the term "Grunt" comes from."

Luke didn’t drop on his belly. This hallway was only 20 feet long, and there was still room to manoeuvre past the trapdoor. He had no time to think in any other way but strategically. If there were Germans coming through the other door they would be sitting ducks. Brutal especially.

So moving as fast as he could (possibly jumping the pit if that is at all possible) he sprinted for the other door. Taking a breath just to note on which side the door’s hinges were positioned he readied his gun and placed himself with his back against the wall. If they would storm into the corridor, he’d catch them by surprise. If they’d open up the door with more caution, he would wait, silently, holding back as far as possible to avoid being seen.

(OOC: he's only taking the running jump if he's confident he'll make it. Otherwise he'll use the edges near the wall).

With seconds to make decisions and the possibility of enemy soldiers coming into the corridor, the team had to act fast. The captain moved quickly to the other side of the pit, walking the ledge as quickly as he can. Looking down he sees Brutal about 5 feet down and holding on to a iron rebar that is part of a crude ladder up the side of the pit. At the bottom of the pit are spikes and razor-sharp wire that would have killed the Corporal in a gruesome fashion. Brutal looks up at the Captain hoping for an all clear but is waved off to wait.

Sgt. Romo signals everyone to get down low to reduce the amount of target they are presenting and the Doc did so despite the protest of his shoulder. Corbin and Greta move deeper into the stairway and hug the walls to give themselves cover while having a clear shot.

The door slammed open and there are four german soldiers, two on their knees with rifles and two standing with machine guns in hand. Behind them are two more with pistols in hand shouting in German but you need no translation to the intent. It is a bad situation, a short corridor with both sides fully armed and it will most likely end badly for both sides.

But then something happens. There is the sound of pistols firing from further away. One of the machine gun soldiers goes down as he is hit by the small arm fire. Heads turn, voices scream orders and the chaos of what is happening in the room beyond takes hold.

Corbin is not one to let an opportunity go and when the soldier shouting order steps into his sights, he ends the man's life with a short bang and his head bursting from front to back. The team opens up with the captain firing from the side and the rest down the hall. The enemy soldiers, caught by surprise and in the crossfire really never stood a chance and all are killed rapidly and without injury to the team.

***

Max looks out into the corridor and see the german's forming a firing squad outside of a door in the hallway they are in. Not waiting to see who it was they were getting ready for, Max decided to take the reckless path and drew both guns and jumped into the room. He hoped that the crossfire would cause confusion and help any possible allies in the other room.

His first shots were good and one of the krauts drops with multiple gunshots wounds to chest and torso. He throws himself down as another fires at him but misses. Max rolls to the side and continues firing as the other side of the door opens up with machine guns and rifle fire.

Max's plan worked but who did he just help out?


OOC: A short break for holidays but please feel free to post. I will begin again in the new year.

Max’s heart raced at what had just happened; seeing an opportunity he had acted without much thought and with luck on his side it had worked. Their stance had made it clear they were preparing to shoot at someone down that side hallway; it was obvious that whomever it was down that passage was not friends to the Krauts. He was hoping they were friends to him at least.

Sitting back against the wall in the corner where he his roll had taken him out of line of sight of that open doorway from which the fire had come. He stuck one Luger under his arm pit and kept the other one trained on the doorway, he quickly slipped out the mag and drew another full one from his back pocket and slipped it in the well and slammed it home. Taking the gun in hand, he repeated the process with the other one. All this took less than 10 seconds; now he had two fully loaded Lugers still aimed at the side passage.

While he was finishing that up he took a breath and called out in English, “Go Yankees!” The agreed upon code phrase when encountering another of his troop; he waited for the answer phrase.

(More will come later after a response.)

Lying on his belly Jack knew he wouldn’t be able to use his M1, he just couldn’t hold it to his damaged shoulder. He could see over the edge of the pit. Brutal was hanging from some thin iron bar. Below were spikes and deadly wire. The kid had done it again proving he’s just too damn ugly to get killed.

Hearing the German voices on the other side of the hall door Doc drew the 45’s he stretched out his right arm and held aim on the door at the far end of the room. The one in his left hand was held to switch when the other emptied.

Moments later the door slammed open and there are four german soldiers, two on their knees with rifles and two standing with machine guns in hand. Behind them are two more with pistols in hand shouting in German but you need no translation to the intent. It is a bad situation, a short corridor with both sides fully armed and it will most likely end badly for both sides.

Before Doc could start shooting gunfire erupted from down the hall. One of the machine gun soldiers goes down as he is hit by the small arm fire. Heads turn, voices scream orders and the chaos of what is happening in the room beyond takes hold. Doc heard Corbin’s rifle roar; the head of the lead German flung back as the bullet ripped through his skull. The Germans paused in the confusion the gun fire behind them and patrol opened up. The krauts were caught in a cross fire and cut down.

The gun fire ceased and as silence of the passage return and voice from the hallway called out in English, “Go Yankees”. It was their call sign of recognition. Jack looked to Romo and then the Captain, who was going answer this guy that had just saved their collective butts?

"Answer him already so we can get the H*** out here and get Jake out of that pit before he become Shishka Brutal."

As Romo waved everyone down to whatever cover they could find and moved forward to check on Brutal, he was surprised to see the Captain instead moving forward into everyone’s line of fire. Romo at first thought it would serve the Captain right to get killed for his own stupidity, but then realized that would leave him in command with no one but him to be blamed if they failed, but somehow survived the mission. Better the Captain get the blame or the glory and the medals as Romo wanted none of that.

As he was about to yell to the Captain to get his ass down, the door to their front slammed open and there are four German soldiers, two on their knees with rifles and two standing with machine guns in hand. Behind them were two more with pistols in hand shouting in German. It was a bad situation, made even worse with the Captain now blocking line of sight in the short corridor with both sides fully armed.

Then pistol sounding gunfire erupted from the room before them and behind the four German’s in the doorway and in seconds one of the machine gun soldiers went down as he was hit. With heads turning, voices’ screaming orders and the chaos of what was happening in the room before them, Corbin was the first to get a shot off. Somehow even with the Captain in his LOS the sniper rifle roared and the head of the lead German was flung back as the bullet ripped through his skull. With the Germans pausing in the confusion, with the gun fire behind them and now a head shot from their front, the rest of the five survivors finally opened fire. The krauts caught in a cross fire were cut down quickly.

The gun fire ceased and as silence returned to the passageway a voice from the room called out in English,

“Go Yankees”.
Romo hearing their call sign of recognition, also knew at once the voice behind the call, Staff Sergeant Max Keller, another of the senior NCOs’ on the mission and a very good friend since their days together in the 82nd Airborne before and during the France invasion. He was the only other trooper that the Master Sergeant had personally known assigned to the mission.

“Hell no Dodgers Rule Max!” he yelled back as he got to his feet, replaced the .45 back into it’s holster, then bent to give Brutal a hand up the rung ladder. Another good NCO, which Max was, was worth more then 4 Captain Edintore’s combined any day of the week.............

“Hell no Dodgers Rule Max!” Came back the yelled reply in a familiar voice. After lowering the guns and pondering the voice he chuckled slightly.

“That you. Troy?” He called back as he slumped back against the wall where he sat in the corner opposite the doorway where the team waited, “You old son of a … “ he laughed aloud and then winced at the pain. Throwing himself to the side to avoid the return fire hadn’t done his injuries any good.

“Ah, they are all dead, you can come in now,” he called out looking at the dead Germans, “you don’t happen to have a Medic over there with you do you? I’ve had a rough day.”

He had lowered his guns, and sat there in the corner waiting to see who of the team had survived.

“Hell no Dodgers Rule Max!” Sergeant Romo bellowed back to the call sign from the hall.
Max?...Max?…., ah sh*T not another sergeant! Sergeants only call other sergeant by their first names, …great…… just great!, Doc thought to himself.
“Ah, they are all dead, you can come in now,” he called out, “you don’t happen to have a Medic over there with you do you? I’ve had a rough day.”, the voice from hall answered Romo.

Oh, good another hero full of holes.
“It’s your lucky day Cowboy, not only have we rescued your sorry bu**, but you’ve got the best Medic this side of the hallway to patch it up.”, Doc call out through the open door.

Pushing hard to get himself back on his feet, Doc readied to do what he knew how to do best,.. save heroes.

The Germans stormed in but fell quickly to the gunfire of Luke and his team, aided by an unknown ally. The captain was glad they’d found a friendly face in the horrors the castle had thrown at them so far, and he was more than a bit surprised that Sgt Romo even seemed to know this man. The tides of war bring strange wreckage, he thought to himself.

As the man, Max, communicated with Romo and Doc, Luke checked the German soldiers, to see if they were all truly deceased.

Doc yelled through the open door: “It’s your lucky day Cowboy. Not only have we rescued your sorry bu**, but you’ve got the best Medic this side of the hallway to patch it up.”

“Go on and see how he’s doing.” Luke said to Doc and to Romo he added: “You escort the Doc. Make sure this guy is really who you think he is.”
The demons and ghouls of whatever other world or hell had many forms. Luke had read enough Terror Tales and Astounding Stories and was well aware that right now anything could happen. So he might as well anticipate on anything.

He then quickly moved to the pit, and beckoned McGuinness to aid him in getting Brutal back in their midst.

The hall now stands in deadly silence. Brutal is rescued from the pit without delay and the team moves into the room where they find their former companion Max Keller. He is looking good considering that he has been held captive and tortured. He has been beaten and the slash across his back has formed a deep red welt but all in all he is alive. the team is one man up now and you spend a few moments filling each other in and introducing Greta, explaining why she is with you and carrying a gun.

The dead soldiers give forth to you two more lugers with two clips each. Two more machine guns and two more rifle, with a total of another four mags for each type.

There is a set of double doors at the end of the hall and three doors on the north side of the room. A set of steep stairs going straight up are also on the north side near the doors to the east.

Greta points to the double door. "The way to the crypts should be through there. It was once a wine cellar, " She points to the doors to the north and east, "and that should be the kitchen, unless the nazis have, how do you Americans say it? - renovated."

“It’s your lucky day Cowboy. Not only have we rescued your sorry bu**, but you’ve got the best Medic this side of the hallway to patch it up.”
Max chuckled at that and winced when it caused him some pain.

“Yeah,” he said as he heard people starting to move his way through the doorway, “What a rescue. You draw them into a clever ambush where they had you trapped in a narrow hallway. Good move!”

As he watched the members of the team come through the door he smiled at them from where he slumped against the wall.

“Lets just agree that we both helped save each other shall we?” He said with a grin and then he saw Sgt Romo.

“Hey there buddy,” His smile broadened, “I should have known you were too stubborn to die. About time you guys got here. I was tired of wearing them down by letting them beat on my ribs and face.”

As the worst of his wounds were being tended he told of how he had been knocked down on the plane when the first shots had hit; he must have been thought dead by the rest evacuating the plane and he managed to get up and jump out just seconds before the plane went down. His chute had opened late and well, it had been easy for the Germans to find him really.

“If you don’t mind,” he said holding up his lugers watching them loot the bodies of the dead germans, “I would like to have something with a little more kick then these.” He raised an eyebrow hoping for one of the machine guns and maybe a couple of mags.

Once he was tended to he rose to his feet and checked his weapons; he fell into line and waited for orders on what they were going to do.

“Ah, no one has found my satchel have they?” He asked sounding hopeful, “damn Krauts took it and I think we could sure use it.”

After listening to Greta talk he frowned and furrowed his brow, “Ah, where exactly are we going and what is going on here? You guys kill everyone topside? I saw a lot of soldiers here and frankly I don’t see this small group getting this far into this place.”