Collaboration with @silmarilz1701
Svetlana knew how to play the game. She'd been caught in the political drama of Stalin's inner circle since birth. The only child of one of Stalin's closest friends, she grew up in the limelight, scrutinized by frie...
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Sveta returned from the medic tent with dark circles under her eyes and a burning rage toward Zhanna and the world. Roe had said that she would recover, though it was inadvisable to drink that much again, regardless of the kind of day Sveta was having. She was still angry at Zhanna for bringing Buck along, though they had saved her life. Sveta's wish to drown out the pain hadn't removed the distrust of the American army. Their room crackled with tension and Sveta would either ignore her friend or respond with a scathing tone. Zhanna spent as much time away from it as she could, a feat she already managed quite well and was further assisted by preparations for their next jump.
Though Buck had known little, it was soon revealed to the officers the nature of their next mission. Operation Market Garden was the dream of the Allied brass to give life to the men's hope of Berlin by Christmas. They would be jumping into the Netherlands, seizing bridges and towns, in the attempt to push back the German line at its weakest link. Nixon was assured that the defenses were old men and young boys, virtually useless against the strength of the battle-hardened soldiers.
"In terms of airborne divisions involved, this one's even bigger than Normandy," Winters spoke in well-rehearsed words, gesturing at the map. "We're dropping deep into occupied Holland. The Allied objective is to take this road here between Eindhoven and Arnhem so the two British armored divisions can move up it toward Arnhem."
Turning back to the group of officers who watched the maps, the air mixed with pessimism and dread, Winter said. "Our job is gonna be to liberate Eindhoven."
Captain Winters was confident, or at least he seemed to be, standing in front of the men, gesturing at the maps and movements of the troops. They had seen these kinds of sand tables and meticulous planning before. D-Day, which was considered a success, but Zhanna couldn't forget her two days in the farmland of Normandy, wading through rivers and avoiding German soldiers. She didn't have a weapon and she hadn't had back up. She wasn't keen to repeat the experience.
Winters' eyes went right over her head as if he didn't see her. Whether or not Nixon had been telling the truth or twisting a tale to get a reaction, Zhanna hoped her message of gratitude had made it back to him. She didn't approach him, not sure what news had made its way to him, about the night of August 21st. Nixon hadn't missed anything, not Zhanna's sprints across town or Sveta's release from the medical tent the following evening. But did Winters know about it? Was he trying to solve the puzzle of the Russian snipers as devotedly as Nixon?
Buck shared her skepticism, though he was the more optimistic of the pair. He tried to reassure Zhanna that this wouldn't be like D-Day. "I won't push you out of the plane this time," he said, jokingly. As if that was the reason she had dropped alone.
In truth, the idea of being back on Europe's continent, even closer to her family's home, even closer to Russia was enough to scatter her mind across the causeway. The jump had come quickly, not the long drawn out affair D-Day had been. In many ways, this jump felt like her first. Zhanna didn't have to lighten the load, no necklace thrown or family ties tossed to the wind. She felt ready. She at least knew what to expect.
