We Happy Few | Band of Brothers

Chapter 54: What Would You Have Done?

Joe seemed to soften under Annie's touch for a millisecond, but just as soon as the calm had come, it was gone again. "I'm under direct orders and I'm happy to follow it." 

As Joe and Skinny climbed out of the vehicle, Webster and Annie shared a look of concern. While their reasoning could have been seen as sympathy, there was no denying that the two of them held just as much hate and disdain for anyone responsible for those horrid camps as the next guy; the only difference was, they were a little more reluctant when it came to bending and breaking the rules in order to right a wrong.

"We should go too." Annie's hand slowly reached for the side of the jeep as she watched the two men start up the path to the small home.

Webster closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before jumping out and following Joe's lead, Annie close behind him. Once her feet touched the ground, Annie jogged up to the front of the pack where Joe was stalking toward the residence. 

"Joe," Annie warned, her eyes scanning his face as he stared straight ahead. His expression was one of focus and determination mixed with a slew of other emotions. 

"Annie," Joe said back, not even bothering to make eye contact. 

Jumping in front of the man, Annie walked carefully backward as she kept her gaze on Joe. "Now, I know a lot of things are probably running through your mind right now—probably a lot of things involving a lot of violence—but can you at least think whatever it is you're about to do through before you do it? I don't want you to do anything you're going to regret."

"Trust me, I'm not going to regret it."

Annie opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could speak, Webster caught up with them and decided he needed to throw his two cents in about the situation as well; which was something Annie had really been hoping he wouldn't do. Joe was already filled with anger and it wasn't a secret that Webster didn't exactly help with that.

"Is this a personal thing, Joe?" Webster questioned.

For the first time, Joe broke his glare with the cabin. "What?"

"Is this personal to you?" Webster rephrased.

Joe shook his head, the dog tags around his neck jingling slightly as he did so. "No, it's a goddamn order."

Webster nodded. "Does Major Winters know about this?"

"Doesn't matter."

"The fuck it doesn't," Webster snapped, proving yet again that Joe was one of the only people who was able to get him really riled up. "What if this guy's just a soldier? What if he's an officer with no ties to the SS? What if he's innocent?"

Stopping in his tracks, Joe turned to face Webster, his brows furrowed and his eyes darker than normal. "You know what, what if he's a Nazi commandant of a fucking slave camp?"

"Which one?" Webster asked again. "Which camp? You don't have any proof."

"Okay, enough!" Annie stepped between the men and placed a hand on each of their chests. "We've all made it very clear here that we obviously have differing opinions on the situation at hand, but that does not mean we need to start bickering with each other. Both of you calm down!"

Joe glanced down at Annie for a second before looking back up at Webster. "Were you at Landsberg?"

Webster exhaled sharply. "You know I was."

"You think he's a soldier like you and me?" Joe wrapped his hand around Annie's wrist as he glared at Webster over her. "A fucking innocent German officer? Where the hell have you been for the past three years?"