Chapter 4: Never Walk Alone
The man named Clint was already on the ground, having crashed over a table with a splintering sound. Rhys Parks stood there, looking calm and composed. It was clear that his punch had been devastatingly effective.
The other seven or eight large men immediately closed in. There was no talking their way out of this. White, More, Cobb, and Tipper each lunged at the man nearest to them. That left three or four men, plus a struggling Clint getting back to his feet, who all charged viciously toward Rhys.
It was Cobb's first time in a town brawl, and he was timid, taking several hits that made his face swell up. Just as he raised his hands to protect his face, an opponent's knee slammed into his stomach, causing him to double over like a shrimp in agony.
"Cobb!" More and Tipper, having knocked their own opponents to the ground, rushed to help. But just as they were about to give Cobb's attacker a piece of their mind, the two men they had just downed jumped them from behind. Unable to fend for themselves, let alone help anyone else, they were once again locked in a chaotic tangle.
The scene was pure chaos. Finally, Rhys's combat skills could be put to proper use.
'THWACK!' A large man was sent flying by a kick, unable to get up for a long time.
'CRUNCH!' With a loud crack, two men collided with each other and crumpled softly to the floor.
Seeing that things were going badly, another man turned to flee, but Rhys grabbed a chair and hurled it at him. With a splintering 'CRASH', the man and the chair went down in a heap at the tavern door.
"And then there was you," Rhys said with a small smile. "Mr. Clint, is it?"
"No, no, no!" Clint was terrified. It was obvious this soldier was not someone to be trifled with. Even though he was smiling, to Clint, that smile was no different from the devil's. "That… that bitch isn't my girl! You can have her!"
"Clint, you bastard!" the woman suddenly shrieked. She rushed forward and slapped Clint across the face with a loud 'SMACK', leaving five bright red finger marks. The woman did not hold back.
"You've got balls. When I get home, I'll have my brother deal with you! You know he's the town boxer!" the woman cursed again. "Asshole!" Then she stormed out of the tavern.
Just then, the sound of a whistle echoed through the town.
"The cops are coming! Let's go! If we get caught, Sobel will never let us hear the end of it!" Cobb said worriedly. His mouth was swollen, and it moved strangely as he spoke.
"Get out of here, and don't let me see you again!" Rhys roared at Clint.
Clint and his downed cronies scrambled to help each other up and staggered away miserably.
"Alright, fellas, time for us to go, too," Rhys said, clapping White on the shoulder and heading for the door.
He had only taken two steps when a woman's voice came from behind them. "You smashed up my bar. Are you just going to walk away from this mess? The police are on their way, and I know you're paratroopers from Camp Toccoa. If you leave, I'll have no choice but to bring my trouble to your camp!"
Rhys and the others turned to see a slender, fair-skinned woman with blonde hair and blue eyes looking at them with a smirk. It was clear she was not a woman of the night, but from a respectable family. Her blue eyes were smiling, and she was very beautiful.
"Damn it, it's Jennifer," Cobb said in a low voice.
"Who?" Rhys clearly had no memory of this beautiful young woman.
"Jennifer Leach. She's the bar owner's daughter," White explained, obviously familiar with her. "She's a real handful. I don't know why she's here. Didn't she go off to college?"
"Here's five hundred dollars." Rhys pulled out the wad of cash he had won playing darts. "I hope this covers your damages. It's all I have." He shrugged.
"If it's not enough, I'll just have to come find you," Jennifer Leach said, looking at Rhys playfully. "But first, you'll have to tell me your name. Otherwise, how will I find you if the money isn't enough?"
"Sergeant Rhys Parks, Second Platoon!" Before Rhys could speak, Cobb couldn't help but blurt it out. "Miss Leach, can we go now?"
"Alright, you can go," Jennifer said, her eyes fixed on Rhys. "But remember, I might come looking for you anytime." She then waved the cash at him.
The soldiers quickly fled the scene and headed straight for the barracks. Their desire for a fun night out had completely evaporated.
On the way, White grumbled at Cobb, "Cobb, you shouldn't have given her Rhys's name and unit. You're going to get him in trouble. You know what a handful that girl is!"
Cobb shot back, "Would she have let us go otherwise? Didn't you hear the cops coming? If the damn police had caught us, do you think Sobel would have let us off? I did it for all of us!"
"Damn it, you sold Rhys out! He did it for you!" White said angrily. "And it was his five hundred dollars!"
More and Tipper remained silent, lost in their own thoughts.
"Alright, White, let it go. It's done now. Besides, it was money I won, easy come, easy go," Rhys said, not wanting to ruin the friendship between his brothers. He said it jokingly, "Maybe that girl has a thing for me. Can't you guys just see this as a romantic encounter for me? I think you're all just jealous!"
"Haha!" The group burst out laughing, and even the embarrassed Cobb managed a smile.
"But seriously, Parks, those moves you pulled were amazing. How did you take down those four big guys?" White's excitement returned. "Have you trained as a boxer?"
"Yeah, tell us! That kick you delivered was incredible! The guy did a full somersault and took out a table!" More added, his interest piqued.
"It's nothing, just… just a type of combat technique," Rhys said, unsure how to explain. It was obvious this group had no concept of Chinese Kung Fu, and he certainly wasn't foolish enough to claim he knew any. To these men, "China" was just a distant, unfamiliar word.
"You have to teach us sometime!" White threw an arm around Rhys's shoulder. "If I knew that stuff, I would've beaten that guy to a pulp today!"
The group was laughing and talking as they approached the camp.
"Remember, guys," Rhys said, looking at the others. "Tonight's business, don't tell anyone."
"You mean the fight? Of course not. We're not idiots," the others nodded in agreement.
But the story of the fight got out anyway, thanks to the bruises on Cobb's face.
***
During the routine formation on Monday morning, Lieutenant Sobel was practically roaring, waving his arms in agitation.
"You are all a pile of shit!" Sobel's spit flew onto Rhys's face. Rhys, Cobb, More, White, and Tipper were standing to one side of the formation, enduring the lieutenant's tirade.
"Sergeant Rhys Parks, in light of your appalling behavior, I am hereby reducing you to the rank of Private and stripping you of your NCO status!" Sobel stared hard at Rhys, whom he had previously been quite pleased with.
"Yes, Lieutenant!" Rhys puffed out his chest. He had no choice but to accept.
"Private Roy Cobb, Private Alton More, Private Jerry White, and Corporal Ed Tipper, you are all assigned to latrine duty for two weeks, effective immediately. And right now, you all have 50 minutes to get to the top of that mountain and back in full gear! Any questions?"
"No, Lieutenant!" the five men answered in unison.
"Then what are you waiting for? Start running!" Sobel bellowed. "The rest of you, dismissed!"
It was clear that Lieutenant Sobel intended to make an example of these five men today.
"I just hope that after today, Sobel leaves us alone," Cobb panted as he ran up the slope. Rhys didn't run too fast; he kept pace with the other four.
"Who knows. The 'Black Swan' will never make things easy for us," White grumbled.
"Let's just run. If we're late, we'll really be in for it!" Ed Tipper shouted.
"I was terrified this morning. I thought Lieutenant Sobel was going to kick us out of the airborne," More said with a laugh from behind them. "If that had happened, I would have never been able to face my family."
"Alright, let's push it! Nothing can stop us. We haven't even earned our silver wings yet, and that's the true mark of a paratrooper! Hi-yo, Silver!" Rhys shouted with a laugh.
The five men pushed themselves up the mountain together. At that moment, their willpower and spirit were the only things supporting them.
"Hey, can't you guys slow down?" a voice called out from behind them.
"They're Lieutenant Sobel's prized horses!" another voice added, seemingly out of breath.
The five of them turned to look. Behind them was a group of soldiers in full gear. The two who had just spoken were George Luz and Joe Toye.
"Hey, what are you waiting for? We're about to pass you!" Lieutenant Winters appeared, running up from within the group. "Men of Easy Company never walk alone! Let's go, let's go! To the top!"