[ambrafoxtrot]

Part 14 Doubts and Plans

Goia was the first one who saw Lario approaching; he wasn’t really walking straight and he was barely coherent. Air humidity and a temperature way higher than a normal January would dictate, didn’t help with the situation either. Goia run towards Lario and proceded to help him through his way inside the hospital.

It was still dark; the only visible lights being the ones of the scattered fireplaces in front of the building. Goia helped Lario to climb over an open window. Inside it was quite calm; Lario saw Lt. Frigerio inside, exhausted as much as he was

Lieutenant Frigerio was sitting at the half crushed reception desk, his head down.

Lario sat on the guest side of the desk, and gestured to Goia that he could go back to his watch duties outside. Before addressing Frigerio, Lario looked around in the big hall theatre of a nasty battle with the Americans the previous afternoon.

“As soon as I am able to…tomorrow I guess, I will take Goia, try to retrieve my vehicle, and I will leave. I have to warn brigade, or whatever command still in charge around here, that Brooksville is out of commission as a logistic base for the Italian forces. I’m just a dumb Sergeant, but I believe that this invasion, at least as far as western Florida is concerned, has failed.

Frigerio didn’t move his head from the table; just his eyes.

“We couldn’t do much more here Sergeant: the Carabinieri company and the logistic company are presumably both finished as combat capable units. We exhausted all the medical supplies, in the last effort to assist the local population. I barely managed to keep everybody alive, I don’t know for how long though. There are some patients in critical conditions, and I have used everything I had. There is no much more I can do. Yet, before I go, I would like to mount one last patrol to the southern outskirts on State road 41…I would like to see if we can manage to find Captain Cantatore, dead or alive, Brigadier Dalmazia or anybody else. It would also be interesting to see what happened to the town sheriff and may be to that yank naval detachment.

Lario raised his head.

“Friends of that American that I hit last night?”

“Yes; we put him with all the other casualties in the ditch behind the main road…I believe it was originally a group of three men; two of’em where fighting with Cantatore down south, but we have no news regarding them or the local police forces”.

“If they are still alive, it’s one more reason for us to grab our sh%t and get lost; the Americans have clearly wrestled this town out of our grasp”…Lario paused…”with the help of the mob I would say. Now, if it is so, the yankees can, and have to take care of their own people here.”

“And the fifghting elements of the brigade? I mean they will completely be cut off of the main supply routes from Hernando beach.

“We don’t have enough elements to judge Lieutenant! We don’t even know if there still is a command in Hernando; supplies…or anything.

“I heard some news yesterday, before the beginning of the battle. They recovered a couple of survivors from the 4th tank regiment and from the cavalry company attached to the brigade. If I have understood well, the cavalry company has been assaulted and destroyed by masses of civilians coming from the nuked towns. There is no precise information about the tankers though.”

“Difficult to say lieutenant; I know there is a mechanized battalion northeast, between Lake Lindsey and Orlando. I am here because I was tasked with a reconnaissance mission by this very battalion. It seems I didn’t make it very far. Hell…I might even try and contact them over the radio…at this point we don’t have much to lose if we get detected by the enemy.

“And the locals here?” Asked Frigerio.

“We did everything we could for them as long as it was tactically meaningful for us to hold this town…now, I think, the time has come for us to leave. The American military will have to deal with its own population now; may be, that will keep them busy enough to prevent them from hitting us too hard. On the other hand, I have no idea about what American units there are around here. Since the beginning of the operation, all I have really ever seen is American light infantry.”

“What about possible survivors from the Carabinieri company.”

“You feel free to stay here and look for them.”

“I might end up doing just that Sergeant…you should let me look at that head of yours, before you leave. You don’t really look in top shape if I may say so”.

“Does anybody else?”