The Way of War Pt. 11

Chapter 32

Five days later he got the all clear from the doctor, on condition he rested and didn't overdo it. He was informed dressing would be provided and pain killer tablets to the Officer who would be tending to him. Later in the afternoon Sharon arrived to take him to the villa.

He was quite in the car as she drove, she sensed that he was brooding over the deaths of his men. Only when the scenery changed to the more opened country did he take interest. "This villa, does it belong to the Navy?" he murmured.

She shook her head "No it's Dads, he bought it when he was commissioned in 1939. He was originally posted to Alex and thought it would be convenient for the family. But then Mom was made head of surgery in Tel Aviv, and Dad was reassigned to Cairo along with me. We use it when we have some leave."

She took a turning on to a dirt road. Sand dunes started to appear and he glanced the sea between some of them. They passed through a small village that contained a few shops, "Nearly there now" she mutated at his side.

They drew up at single story villa set on top of a low bluff. The arched windows had wooden shutters across them and sand had blown across the stone driveway.

"Stay in the car while I open it up," Sharon remarked.

He watched as she opened the arched door disappearing inside. He lit a cigarette looking around, it seemed no other buildings were built nearby. He opened the car door swinging his legs out, he could smell the clean air of the sea. He reached in and retrieved his walking sticks, and began to walk slowly with the aid of the sticks towards the door.

Sharon appeared she had removed her coat and hat and came rushing towards him. "Are you sure you can manage?" she asked. He smiled and nodded. Inside she led him slowly through the gloomy lounge to opened French doors, and pulled out a cane chair for him to sit in,

He was sat on a wide patio looking directly out to sea, white sand separated the villa from the sea about a hundred yards away he judged.

"I'll open the shutters now to let more light in. Would you like a beer while you wait darling?" He nodded "Please."

When she had gone he became aware of a low humming noise that seemed to come from the side of the villa. He commented on it when she came back. "That's the generator, it supplies the electricity and powers the pump for the water. Hany put it on yesterday when he filled the fridge."

"Hany?" he murmured. Sharon chuckled "he and his wife Messa look after the villa, they live in the village we passed. I came down yesterday with the food and drink for us and Hany put it in his fridge until ours was ready for it. He runs the store in the village and is the only one with a telephone."

"Look darling if you are comfortable here I'm going to have a shower and change after I've brought the luggage in."

He started to protest, "I should do that?"

She laughed, "Yes but we need it today."

He sat back in the comfortable chair and drifted off to sleep.

When he awoke he could hear Sharon singing somewhere in the villa, he glanced at his watch 3:40pm, he'd slept for three hours.

His clothes were sticking to him, 'I need a shower now' he thought, struggling to get up. Sharon must have heard him, she came rushing in. He blinked when he saw her, she'd changed into shorts cut high in the leg and wore the top piece of a two piece bathing costume.

"I need to take a shower, I stink," he mumbled.

She smiled "I'll take you through to the bedroom."

She helped his undress ignoring his roused condition. She removed the dressing from his arm staring in horror at the vivid scars on it and his side. "I'll redress them after your shower."

In the shower he supported himself by holding onto the shower wall while she bathed him. Groaning has she washed his lower areas. "Darling I know how you feel, but we can't yet, until you are much better," she murmured.

He sat on the bed as she dressed the wounds aware of her body and the smell of her perfume. "Sharon wounds or no wounds I'm going to rape you if you keep wearing this outfit."

She gave a throaty chuckle. "It's an incentive to get you better. In any case I'll be the one raping," she whispered sexily.

She changed into a kaftan and they had steaks grilled on a barbecue outside on the patio, with a bottle of good red wine.

He sat back contented gazing out to sea, the setting sun creating a thousand flashes of light reflecting from the quite water. "Time for bed Captain," Sharon murmured. Shaun brightened up, "You're sleeping on your own Captain," she chuckled

The next morning early, he found his swimming trunks in the drawer where Sharon had put them. He struggled through the soft sand until he reached the sea. He managed to do an awkward side stroke pushing his body to greater effort.

When he emerged he felt both elated and exhausted at his efforts. Sharon was standing on the beach with her hands on her hip, back in the shorts. "What the hell are you doing," she said angrily. He grinned, "Training to rape you."

"Well I have to redress your bloody wounds now you've got them wet."

They had a big breakfast of bacon eggs and fried tomatoes. "If the Rabbi could only see you now Miss Silverman," he chuckled.

"Well I won't tell if you don't," she replied laughing.

After four days, Sharon noticed the wounds seemed to be healing fast, no doubt due to the sea water she imagined from his daily swimming sessions. And he was walking better without the aid of the sticks.

Hany had delivered a box of groceries along with two biscuit tins addressed to Shaun. "There from Aunty Vicky, there will be food in them," he told her. She unpacked them putting the cigarettes and malt whiskey to one side and handing him the letters inside of them.

He was sat out on the patio reading them when she brought him a beer. "Everything all right at home?" she asked.

He smiled, "Yes, life goes on in the Crater, Aunt Vicky says you wouldn't know there was a war on. That's Crater butter and cheese she's sent, they have a canning factory in Nairobi now."

She left him to his letters returning into the lounge to tidy up. She was fluffing up the cushions on the couch when she felt his hands pushing up her top piece of her costume, she could feel his hot breath on her neck as he grasped her breasts squeezing them. "Miss Silverman you are about to be violated," he whispered in her ear.

"Oh...yes please," she said breathlessly.

She felt him pushing down her shorts, and then his erection was rubbing on her bottom. He was muzzling her neck, she felt weak yearning for the moment. Then she felt it and groaned at the sensation pushing back with her bottom.

When the release came, it left them weak unable to talk for a moment. She felt him withdrawing and turned to look at him. He was standing breathing heavily, perspiration covered his body. He smiled at her, "That's harder work than swimming," he muttered. Sharon dissolved into laughter.

Outside on the patio having a drink he murmured "I imagine that you will be sleeping with me now?" he said grinning.

"Only if you promises not to overdo it," she said firmly.

Over the next week they swam naked in the sea, each day he grew stronger. They made love at night in bed and some times during the day. Finally one morning he said "Sharon I'm fit enough now to return to duty."

She stared at him "Darling you mustn't rush things you were badly wounded. It takes time to recover fully."

He held her close, "Sharon I am fit now, I could stay here forever with you and be happy, but my Patrol is out there fighting," he paused "I have to go back. Will you run me to the Oasis please darling?"

The roads were strangely quite from military traffic. Shaun had not heard what was happening with the war since being at the villa, apart from Montgomery had pushed Rommel back at El Alamain. It took five hours before the little Morris pulled up at the camp.

The tents and trucks where visible, but there were few men around. He left Sharon in the car and made his way to Ted's tent.

Ted had his feet up on the table when he knocked on the tent post. His face broke out into a wide smile as he came to his feet. "Shaun it's wonderful to see you again looking a hell of a lot better than you did.

Sat in a chair Ted brought him up-to-date. Most of the patrol were on extended leave in Cairo due to the fact that Montgomery was advancing at such a rapid pace there was no work for it. "He's not giving Rommel a chance to dig in. We are past Benghazi now, which is helping his supply problems."

Shaun nodded, "Tt sounds as if the LRDG has outlived its usefulness," he murmured.

"At the moment it has," Ted agreed. "So do we have any orders, have you heard from the Commodore?"

Ted chuckled, "He's at the front with the general staff, my last order was to stay put until further orders."

"So Bobby, Bill and Tim are in Cairo with the rest of the men?" Shaun asked.

Ted nodded, "Look Shaun you may as well return to where you are. Leave me a contact number where I can get a hold of you. To be on the safe side you may has well collect your personal things from your tent and take them with you."

Shaun loaded his things into the Morris, telling a delighted Sharon of Ted's decision. "I gave him Hany's telephone number to get in contact with me, we will have to let Hany know."

On the way back to the villa Shaun asked if she had to return to duty. "My last order was to see to your welfare, something I intend to do to the letter Captain," she said with a sexy chuckle.

At the villa she hopped out the car "right while you unload your stuff, I'm going to get out of this uniform and take a shower I've been broiling in this car whilst you have been having a chitchat."

He looked at her, "Hey I'm a poor wounded soldier you know."

She laughed, "Captain you said yourself that you were fit, so get on with it...Sir."

After putting his foot locker and rifle into the bedroom he was sweating like a bull. He stripped off and entered the shower himself. He could hear Sharon singing in the kitchen obviously happy with the way things had worked out.

He put on his shorts heading for the kitchen. She was preparing sandwiches, dressed in white shorts with a black bra top. "Do all Jewish girls were shorts that short," he asked.

She turned and smiled "In the kibbutz they do, why don't you like them."

He grinned "Oh I like them all right, they should start a new fashion trend."

"We can have steaks tonight out on the patio, and I still have a bottle of wine left. And if you are a good boy we may do something else later," she said wiggling her bottom.

"Sharon Silverman you are a hussy, you're sex mad," he murmured.

She laughed, "Only with randy Kenyon's."

After the meal that night they were sat on the sun lounger drinking the brandy, "Sharon when can we get married?" He asked.

"As soon as Dad and Mom can be here, and you'll want your lads there won't you?"

He nodded, then chuckled, "It seems we are having the honeymoon before the wedding."

She laughed, "No darling this is only practice for it."

He smiled slipping his hand into her bra and freeing the breast, "Well you know what they say about practice," he murmured.

She gasped feeling his thumb rubbing her nipple, which responded to his touch. "No, what?" She said breathlessly, as she felt him slide his other hand into her shorts.

His lips covered her mouth and she felt his tongue urgently pressing on her lips. She opened them surrendering to his attentions.

They lay cuddling each other. "Did you have girlfriends in Kenya Shaun?"

He hesitated before replying, "one or two, not girlfriends has such more like girls I took out."

"And did you sleep with them?"

"Well yes, when I got the chance. Why do you ask?"

She chuckled, "I just wondered where you got your experience from."

"So was Peter your first man you slept with?"

"Yes, but I had a two guys when I served in the Kibbutz, and we played around after drinking too much." "So you lost your virginity to Peter?"

She laughed "Believe it or not, I lost it horse riding, when I was fifteen."

"Lucky horse," he murmured then winched as she dug her elbow into his ribs.

That night they went to the village to see if there were any messages for him, finding none they called into the small bar. Finding to his surprise they had vodka on sale. They had a few drinks and he bought two bottles to take back to the villa.

Over the next ten day they fell into a routine. Hany brought newspapers on his delivery days, so they could check on the state of the war. Rommel had been pushed out of Libya, and Montgomery was keeping the pressure on him.

Shaun put the newspaper down, "I think the L R D G is now a unit without a job," he murmured to Sharon. She looked concerned at him, "What will you do now then?"

He shrugged his shoulders "I'll probably be re-assigned to an Infantry unit."

"You would hate that wouldn't you?" She asked.

He chuckled "I have to admit, I liked the familiarity we had with the men, and the excitement of the job." She nodded understanding.

Two days later Hany brought the message, report to Commodore Silverman's office at 13 hundred hours the next day.

Chapter 32

Sharon waited in the outer office as the secretary showed Shaun into Silverman's office. He was surprised to find Prof and Cookie there. Silverman came from around his desk to shake Shaun's hand.

"The sea air must agree with you Captain, you're looking much fitter now than when I last saw you," said with a knowing smile.

"Yes, thank you Sir," Shaun managed to stutter.

Silverman returned to his desk, "The reason I've called you men together is too inform you of the current situation with the LRDG. Unfortunately its work is almost done here in Africa, so now we must look to the future. I've been ordered to create a new unit under the command of the SOE, which is the Special Operations Executive. Its task will be to support and train the resistance fighters in Greece; to be more accurate, the Island of Tyros in the Aegean Sea." He moved to a large scale map hanging on the wall, pointing out the Island.

"The people of Tyros have undergone savage reprisals from the German garrison there, mainly by remnants of the Waffen-SS of the Valkyrie Regiment. These troops are not like Rommel's Afrika Korps, they have no honour what-so-ever and are utterly ruthless. An entire village was destroyed and four hundred villages were executed when a road bridge was destroyed in Russia. We do not know the exact numbers of who are left on the island, but by best reports it's estimated somewhere around three to four-hundred remain. It is thought that they had been pulled back for a rest."

He let that information sink in before continuing.

"It is my intention to train the resistance on Tyros to make the German forces there frightened to leave there billets. The Island is only twenty six miles long by nine miles wide, it has no strategic value except that if we succeed in this, it will give hope to others in other occupied Islands."

Silverman smiled, "So you must be wondering what this has to do with you. Well, you have a choice, you could all be reassigned to your old units, or you can join mine."

Shaun spoke up, "I can't speak for the others but given the choice, I'd rather join yours, Sir,though I should point that out I don't speak Greek."

Silverman chuckled, "That's not important, the men you would be working with speck English."

Prof spoke up, "I'd like to stick with the Captain Si, and I do speak Greek."

Silverman nodded, "I know Sargent, it's on your record. And by the way, it's Major Ramage now." Shaun looked up surprised.

Cookie added, "Me too Sir, want to stick to the Cap...sorry Major?"

Silverman continued, "There will be three others joining your team, Major. A Lieutenant Andrias Nickolias. He was born on Tyros and knows the people and the country. His entire family were executed by the SS. Sargent David Robson, of the SAS, expert at sniping and explosives and Corporal John Masters, an SAS sniper and medical and communications member. You'll meet them tomorrow when I outline your plan of action. Quarters have been found for you at the Nile Palace. Until tomorrow gentlemen, at ten hundred hours, dismissed"

Outside, Shaun told Sharon of the arrangements, "Well, at least I don't have to cook," she chuckled.

In the bar that night he chatted to Prof and Cookie, finding out that the rest of Z Patrol were being disbanded.

"I think the Commodore has plans for them, but of course it's all hush, hush," Prof said.

Shaun had to visit the military tailors to have a crown fixed to his uniforms denoting his new rank. Later he and Sharon had a late lunch in the hotel.

He arrived at Silverman's office before any of the others and sat reading their files that the Commodore had given him.

Lieutenant Nickolias was 23, he had been in the Greek army for three years, before transferring to the British army after the fall of Crete. He had been involved in three successful raids on occupied Islands and had been awarded the Military Medal.

Sargent David Robson, 29, formally of the Green Howards, joined the SAS in 1941. He has been classed expert in weapons, sniper, and explosives. Spoke German fluently. Wife, German, married 1934.

Corporal John Masters, 24. Formally of the Royal Medical Corps, joined the SAS 1941. Classed as an expert sniper, radio and communications. Speaks German and Italian. Trained for two years as a medical student. Family killed in air raid.

Shaun put the files down and looked at Silverman, "They all appear to know their business, Sir."

Silverman nodded, "That they do, and they all have a hatred of Germany. Masters Wife's family were imprisoned for her marrying him."

There was a knock on the door and the secretary announced the others had arrived.

Shaun nodded to Prof and Cookie as they walked in. Robson was tall and muscular, he noticed, whereas Nickolias and Masters were average height and slightly built. Silverman did the introductions.

He then proceeded to brief them on their mission on Tyros. "Lieutenant Nickolias will be put ashore from a submarine. His job is to establish contact with people he can trust, and to find a secure location for the rest of you. When we receive his signal, the rest of you will go along with weapons and supplies. After Major Ramage has reviewed the situation on Tyros he will begin his attack on the enemy. Gather your personnel effects together, you will be moving into the Naval Yard the day after tomorrow. You will be informed of where and when."

Sharon drove him back to the villa, he was quite for most of the journey. Sharon finally asked, "This job Dad as sent you on, how dangerous is it?"

He hesitated before replying. "There will be some danger, how much is hard to tell until we get there and see the lay of the land. The enemy is different from the ones we have been fighting here in North Africa. Their SS, Himmler's thugs, they respect only their own kind. They wage war by being utterly ruthless, they have no respect for human life."

"So what is it you have to do over there?" Sharon asked alarmed.

He chuckled mirthlessly, "We will be as ruthless as them."

That night as he packed, Sharon gave him a package.

"Its sweaters," she said, "you'll find it colder over there than the desert."

He smiled, "Thank you darling," he said unwrapping it. On top of the pile he found his cigarette case that had been repaired. He looked up surprised at her.

She gave him a sad smile, "The photograph is back inside," she muttered.

They made love that night knowing their time together was running out. "I won't be able to contact you once we are there, but no doubt your father will inform you of everything," he whispered.