Scorched Earth - Robert Muchamore Page 0,72
‘Well?’
Henderson took a pensive step back from the window. ‘Maxine clearly doesn’t need us,’ he said finally. ‘Go fetch the weapons, but we’ll need a clearer idea of what’s going on before wading in.’
As PT, Henderson, Edith, Sam and Joel charged down to the basement, Marc hurriedly pulled on his boots. Luc had been two floors down with Laure, and had already gone out on to the street to see what was happening.
‘I grabbed some woman running up the hill,’ Luc told everyone as they joined him outside. ‘She reckoned there’s a German truck. Eight to ten troops hiding on the bridge, and a tank further back.’
‘Damn,’ Henderson said. ‘Did she say what kind of tank?’
Luc shook his head.
‘OK. Marc, Luc—’
Henderson got interrupted by a second tank blast. They were too far up the hill to have a view of the bridge or the municipal building, but there was the sound of masonry shattering and a new dust cloud gave an opportunity to move without being seen.
‘Marc, Luc – find sniper positions and see what you can pick off,’ Henderson said, as they all scrambled into the lobby of an apartment building. ‘The rest of us can keep moving downhill, but stay out of sight.’
A German speaker announcement wafted through the dust. ‘Surrender immediately or we shall storm the building.’
Still in his pyjama bottoms, Marc took a sniper rifle and a bag of ammunition clips off Joel.
‘I’m going for the balconies where the old grannies sit watching the kids,’ Luc said.
Marc thought Luc’s idea was smart, but didn’t tell him so. He had to squint as he charged after Luc into the white dust cloud. As they sprinted 60 metres, a couple of feeble revolver shots rang out from inside the municipal building. The pair went through the rear entrance of the last apartment block in their street. They charged up to the second floor and pounded on an apartment door.
It got answered by one of the elderly women who usually sat out watching the little kids play.
‘We need your balcony,’ Luc said brusquely.
The woman didn’t look keen, so Luc forced the door and bundled her out of the way. She made a kind of cackling sound as she fell backwards and slid down the wall.
‘Sorry,’ Marc said as he stepped over her legs and followed Luc.
Dust blew into a sunny living-room as Luc opened the balcony doors. The old woman had found her feet and started shouting about it being her private home and them having no right to charge in.
‘Shut up or I’ll punch you out,’ Luc said, getting his usual kick out of being nasty.
Marc gave the old girl a guilty smile. ‘Just go into the back room. Close the door and try to stay calm.’
The balcony gave a superb view of the municipal building, the riverbank and the bridge. For all his threats, the German commander hadn’t given the order to storm the building because it would involve an open approach across the broad cobbled area that local boys used as a football pitch.
Marc and Luc crept on to the balcony as the tank launched another shell at the building. A couple of 88-mm shells from a heavy tank like a Tiger would have flattened the building. But this was an outdated Panzer, equipped with a much less powerful 20-mm cannon.
The situation looked like a classic stand-off. The Germans had jumped out of their truck and crouched securely behind the low wall running the length of the bridge. The Maquis were all holed up inside the municipal building and if they had any sense they’d have moved to rooms at the rear so they wouldn’t get hit by the tank blasts.
Marc looked at Luc. ‘Any bright ideas?’
‘The Germans might advance using the tank as cover,’ Luc said. ‘Charging in with the truck could be risky, but if they came in at speed they’d only be exposed for a few seconds. Or, they could wait for a heavier tank to arrive and pound the whole place to rubble.’
‘Have they got heavy tanks in the city?’ Marc asked as Luc peered through the scope on his sniper rifle. ‘I’ve never seen one if they have.’
‘Aye, aye!’ Luc said excitedly.
‘What?’ Marc asked.
‘From this height we can get a clear shot through the floor of the truck.’
Marc looked confused and Luc tutted impatiently.
‘What’s below the floor of a truck, just behind the cab?’ Luc asked.
‘Oh,’ Marc said, feeling dumb as he worked it out. ‘We could shoot through the floor