Two Steps To Success and Redemption (in Revision)

Act 3 - Word at War (1942-1945) - "The Rise of a Legend"

In those fateful years, the late 1930s and early 1940s, the world was in flames once again, embroiled in a conflict of unprecedented scale, as devastating as the Great War that ravaged Europe from 1914 to 1918.

And this flame that once again engulfed the world was World War II, which had begun on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, and Europe was plunged into blood and steel until the German surrender on May 8, 1945.

In the Pacific, the war still raged, only ending with the Japanese capitulation on September 2, 1945.

The attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 was the spark that brought the United States into the conflict.

Kamikaze pilots launched themselves at American ships in a suicidal gesture, destroying much of the base and paving the way for Roosevelt to send troops to fight on the other side of the world.

At the same time, diplomatic agreements with Winston Churchill, crystallized in the Atlantic Charter, reinforced the Allied resolve to confront Nazi and fascist tyranny.

But even amid this global storm, there were corners of the planet where time seemed to bend.

Places where war arrived only as a whisper, not as the roar of gunfire or devastating explosions.

**********

Louisiana, 1942.

A warm morning breeze danced through the tall oak trees, and the golden rays of the sun filtered lazily through the leaves as Marina Łupków Petrov and Anna Anatolievna Leckermann, dressed in hunting pants and cotton shirts, returned to the farm with two tethered deer and a bucket of still-thrashing tilapia.

The smell of gunpowder and fresh water mingled with the woody aroma of the porch where they hung their guns.

Despite the fact that World War II had already engulfed half the planet, here, in the southern retreat of the country's two most unlikely billionaires, time seemed to move at a slower pace, a luxury that only those with five billion dollars could afford.

At 12:40 p.m., sitting on the porch overlooking the lake, Marina and Anna shared a simple lunch: grilled fish, cornbread, and beer served in tin cups.

They laughed about old stories, about when they were still just anonymous soldiers in the army, before fortune, before fame, before the war that was now knocking on the world's door again.

And then, as if fate had heard their silence, the steady sound of knocking echoed through the front door.

Knock-Knock.
Knock-Knock.
Knock-Knock.

- Hold on, I'm comin' - Marina murmured, putting the bottle aside and calmly standing up.

When they opened the door, they found old Colonel Davis there, rigid in his posture, although the years had dyed his hair gray and deepened the lines on his face.

- Good evenin', sergeants....ow are you? - he said, with a slight nod.

- Colonel Davis, always an honor - Anna replied, her expression slightly tense - What brings you to our doorstep?

- I reckon you've read the papers - he began bluntly - The world's bleed'n again...Pearl Harbor got hit by the Japs, and now the United States is at war with the Axis Germany, Italy, Japan....I'm here to call on you girls; the country needs sharp eyes and steady hands once more.

The wind seemed to stop for a moment, as if nature itself was waiting for the answer.

- And where do you want us to see action, Colonel? - Marina asked, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight.