Shadows of the World » Band of Brothers

30: Revolutions are Infinite

"There is no final one; revolutions are infinite." - Yevgeny Zamyatin, We

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"We're moving out," Alexis said, no hints of a joke on his face. "Right now."

"What? Why?" Tom asked, incredulous, but Alex just shook his head.

"Where are the others?"

"Um, Will's in the bathroom and -"

"What's going on?" Martin cut Juliette off, looking between the three of them concernedly.

"We're moving out. I'll explain on the way. Get William."

Alex left no room for argument, one look at his face was enough to know that he wasn't messing around (not that he ever did), and the tone of his voice was grave enough to let them all know that this was serious. Jules looked to Thomas almost instinctively and found him looking back at her; his eyebrows were furrowed in a look of worry he rarely wore, and she could only imagine her own face looked much the same.

As she looked around at the bustling pub she could only hope that the sheer volume of people and activity would allow them to slip out unnoticed, though her eyes locked with Gene's at the last moment. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes flicked between her and the group gathered around her. She sent him a nod and what she hoped was a reassuring smile; he had worked out what was happening. Juliette looked away, hoping he would do the same to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

As soon as Martin returned with Will, Alex led them out into the freezing winter air. When the door had closed behind them he broke out into a run. It was late enough that no one was out and the noise from the pub was loud enough to mask their footfalls. They made it back to the house in record time and each split off in separate directions immediately to get ready.

Juliette tried desperately to rid herself of any traces of intoxication, but she had clearly drunk more than the ideal amount for such an activity. She stumbled her way up the stairs and crashed into almost every wall on her way into her room.

She made getting out of her dress much more difficult than necessary with her drunken state before getting into her jump gear. She was incredibly grateful that she had already prepared her mission bag as soon as she had come back from the last one just in case of a surprise last minute call up. She was waiting back by the front door in minutes.

Alex shoved a cup in her hands and she downed it all in one, hoping the freezing water would sober her up a little bit. Almost as soon as she had put the glass down the others had gathered, too.

The truck pulled up outside right on time.

Alex began to brief them as soon as they'd all bundled in and the truck started moving again. "A team they had in the field has been caught by the SS - they think there's been an information leak so they're sending us in. We're heading back to Bordeaux, a safe house is waiting there for us where we'll get ready and head out at first light."

"What's the job?" Tom asked.

Alex pursed his lips. "The team we're replacing didn't have time to bail out. They're currently in custody, due to be moved to the Gestapo HQ tomorrow morning."

Jules sucked in a hasty breath, her heart rate stuttering as it spiked. "We're rescuing prisoners?"

Alex nodded. "In the hopes that they haven't broken yet. In Paris, agents tend to last about thirty minutes, and we have no idea how much this group knows. If we don't get them out they could potentially compromise safe houses, resistance contacts, names of double agents..." He paused, looking between each of the others carefully. "They could compromise the Normandy invasion if they break. Getting them out before they reach Paris is our best, and only, option."

"So the stakes are rather high, then?" Will asked rather redundantly, sharing a cautious glance with Juliette.

Alex nodded. "If we can't reach them, everything's down the drain. Failure isn't an option."

"Is it ever?" Martin mumbled from his place beside Jules.

Alex looked to him sharply. "This isn't like the other missions. You need to understand the importance of what we're doing, or everything will fall through." His words faltered, what he was about to say next a sudden dawning realisation on him just as it would be on the others. "Essentially, the entirety of the invasion of France rests on our shoulders. The size of Operation Bodyguard guarantees this team has been working to convince the Germans that the Allies will be coming through Calais. If they break, it's all over. The invasion that's supposed to win us the war will be futile."

"This mission could win or lose us the war," Tom murmured in realisation, glancing up at Alexis warily.

Alex nodded.

Juliette rubbed a hand over her eyes, forgetting she was wearing makeup, and gave a small, resigned sigh.

"What's the game plan?" Tom wondered, and Alex went on to explain all of the logistics of the operation.

Jules felt a surge of anxiety rush through her when she learned of her part in the mission. Sometimes she wondered how she ever made it out of these missions alive with the positions she was put in. She supposed she had her younger self to thank, mostly; she was a compulsive liar as a child.

"But that's - that's practically suicidal!" Will protested once Alex had informed them all of her place on the front lines of the mission. Jules squeezed his knee reassuringly.

"I'll be fine, Will. Don't worry about me."

When she met eyes with Alex, however, she was certain the fear was evident in her features, perhaps so deeply engraved it oozed out of her entire being. Alex was watching her with that sympathetic, guilty expression again, as though trying to show her how sorry he was for putting her in that position, and Jules mustered the best smile she could for him. It wasn't his fault; she was their primary undercover agent, and as their tactician he had to use his resources accordingly. It was a difficult mission, and Jules knew that he would have planned it meticulously to ensure their guaranteed success. That didn't stop the buzzing of dread in her veins, however. Will was right; on paper it really was suicidal.

"Thomas, your timing has to be perfect," Alex told him seriously, despite the fact he'd already said as much when explaining his respective role in the operation.

Tom nodded, lips drawn into a firm line. "I won't be late," he promised.

Moments later they pulled up to the airfield they generally used, which was so top secret none of them actually had any idea where it was. Their lone plane was already ready and waiting for them, the engine purring its anticipation to fly.

Each of them filed out of the truck and got themselves ready to jump, checking each other's equipment carefully before getting onto the plane and sitting down, ready for their standard procedure jump into France. As the plane took off, Jules found it rather soothing, a far cry from the intense panic she had felt the first time she had had to jump; nowadays, it was what was waiting for them on the ground that was really to be dreaded. The plane had become the best part.

Juliette clasped her hands together in her lap and closed her eyes, thinking hard on her training and everything she would need to remember to carry this out as cleanly as possible. She distantly wondered what her parents would think if they could see her now, minutes away from jumping out of an aeroplane into occupied France ready to bust some high-value prisoners out of the grip of the Nazis. She thought her mother would probably faint from the shock, though her father, through all of his faults, might have smiled; she was working to free the land he loved so much, after all, and after realising that suddenly her job wasn't so scary anymore.