Mastermind

Chapter 30

A/N: Welllllllll.....folks, we made it! We only have a few chapters to go now, and then this fic will be over and put back on the shelf. I hope that you enjoy this one (it's been a long time coming, after all). That being said, let me know what you think!

Chapter Text

Spring in Holland was utterly beautiful—and Ruth was grateful that they were no longer in Germany. After Lewis Nixon was satisfied that Ruth had reunited with her boys, he had taken off to meet Easy Company further into Germany. Ruth had been sad to see him go, but she knew that his place lay with his men and with his friends—just as her place now resided here and with the men of the Hundredth Bombing Group.

Still, Ruth was not idle. She wasn't given the chance to be. In between recording her experience with the camps and then getting accounts from each of the men about the abuses of the German army, she was kept busy. It was work like this that she knew was going to be far more important than any court martials she could be working on. This was the type of work that was going to bring justice and humanity back into the world.

It didn't stop her heart from aching though. Didn't stop her from flinching at the thought of the abuses that these men had been through while in Stalags. When Bucky had told her that they made them march through the night so they would be made targets by the Allied Forces, she had felt such a rage rise up in her.

He had patted her on the shoulder and told her that it was alright. It most certainly was not! Abe gave up a lot of the abuses pretty quickly, just happy to have Ruth back on his side and near them. Her notebook of war crimes was pretty full and Ruth was going to need a new one soon at this point.

At the current rate of transmissions though and the way that the Allied Forces were making progress, Ruth hoped that the telegram that they had sent to base would arrive soon. She wasn't the type to like sitting around much—though she certainly insisted that the men sit around and rest. She couldn't deter Bucky from keeping busy though, not that she entirely minded that man being busy. It meant less time for him to bother her, though she had missed his presence to a degree.

Right now though, the group had gathered for dinner. Ruth kept a close eye on the men as they ate the food. That first night that they had arrived in Holland, Abe had cried at the sight of actual bread and Ruth had just let the boy cry over the bread. Tonight, there were no tears. But there were some actual questions.

It seemed that once they had food in their bellies and had rested a bit, they all were much more curious about things. And Ruth felt much of the same feelings. "So....40 days?" Ruth questioned, offering Bucky a cigarette as she glanced in his direction.

A grin spread across his face at the cigarette and he gave a nod. Everyone else around the table gave groans of annoyance. "Not this again," DeMarco begged.

"No, it's funny!" Abe exclaimed.

Bucky leaned back in his chair, pointing his cigarette at Abe. "So the kid shows up, right? And we're all pretty tired of the shit in the Stalag anyway. And I figure that there's no way in hell you're letting Baby Shark here just sit in a Stalag."

"Damn straight."

"So I get to talkin' while Baby Shark is napping and I tell the guys that I give it 40 days, give or take. And then you'll show up with the entirety of the Allied Forces to get your boy back and we'd all be freed. Easy peasy," Bucky finished with a shrug.

"How did you get to Germany?" John asked, leaning forward to listen to his sister attentively.

Ruth's cheeks burned a slight scarlet as she thought of the arguments. "Well I waited a half day before arguing with the Colonel about where I was needed most."