The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Page #4

not be able to do what we want to do.

What we want comes first.

When are you going to tell him?

Did I ever tell you about

the time I was in Venice?

I met a girl in front of Sabatini's.

We walked down the street.

We stood in a doorway. It was dark.

She let me do anything I wanted.

You know, it was really something.

But before the real thing,

you know what she said?

- What did she say?

- You gotta pay!

The same with the soldier.

When he's got the dam blowing up

in his head and he can hardly wait,

that's when I'll tell him, you gotta pay.

Did you pay?

Everybody pays, stupid.

It never happened.

What the hell do you know about it?

When you were in Venice,

you were 11 years old.

Sure, but I was big for my age.

How did the girl know how old I was?

It never happened.

Shut up! Come on, get up!

You gotta practice with the guns. Get up!

Could we slow down for a minute?

I have to talk to you.

Go ahead.

The little girl, Maria.

I'm very worried about her.

Her leg is badly infected.

It is spreading.

That's too bad.

Please, let me go back

with the two little ones.

I must get Maria into a hospital. Somehow.

You don't really believe I could do that.

Why not? You can send us with Silvio.

He could take days

to lead us to a village.

You could be anywhere by that time.

And what happens

when the Gestapo drops in,

and asks you for a list of the boys'

names and their descriptions?

What would you do then?

Has it occurred to you that I may not like

the Gestapo any more than you?

Well, you'd have to like them

to do Maria any good.

Please. You must find some way

to get me out with the two little ones.

Here it comes.

There are many soldiers down there.

Check.

Stay down.

And you have 15 boys.

Some of them not much more than babies.

And I wonder which ones can swim.

So you've decided to use the children

to help you blow up the dam.

Yeah.

I heard you say, "Hit 'em and run."

But that will always stay with you.

Don't you realize

what you're doing to these children?

Don't tell me about those kids.

I know how they feel.

When I was Aldo's age,

I saw my old man killed.

Blown up in an oil well fire.

All I could think about

after that was blowing up

every goddamned oil well I could find,

like they want to kill

every German they can find.

You can't use the children.

If they help me blow up that dam,

I might even things up for them.

I won't go back. You can kill me here!

Right now!

Please, please!

Help, help! Help!

What a great little healer

you turned out to be.

You with all your bandages

and your splints.

You can heal me now, Doctor.

Get our men into billets.

- Get them fed quickly.

- Yes, sir.

Your men have been reassigned, Captain.

Major Taussig,

commanding officer of this area.

Heil Hitler.

I think we can dispense

with a formal briefing.

I'm the last man who has

to be briefed on this operation.

Colonel Jannings

has warned me of your spirit.

But while you're under my command,

you will obey orders.

Under your command.

My papers from General Von Kleber

specifically state...

Orders signed by General

Von Kleber are no longer valid.

He's been relieved

of his duties in this area.

In that case, I await your orders,

Major.

I've assigned you the east slope

of the tunnel, Captain.

- I myself will...

- I'll have to beg off.

The captain was twice wounded

while serving with the Afrika Korps.

A good field officer doesn't keep

his men standing around.

Assist the captain.

Make sure he doesn't tax his strength

by straying too far from the village.

- Move out!

- Move out!

A waste of manpower, isn't it?

Four of us sitting here.

Where to, Captain?

Back down the road

about three miles, there's a creek.

We'll follow it north toward the dam.

Okay. Dry out. Next two.

Go.

- I'm okay. I'm okay.

- Okay, okay, dry off. Go on.

I told you I'm okay.

That's all right.

Okay, dry out.

- How's it going?

- Almost finished.

Look, I'm almost finished, too.

Good.

Hey, soldier, ready for live ammo?

Like I said, I'll let you know when.

But first we get to practice with it, no?

Why don't we just send the Germans

an invitation to come and get us?

But we've never shot one.

I hope you never have to.

Never have to?

Is that supposed to be a joke?

How are we gonna

not shoot and still kill Nazis?

By blowing up the dam.

We gotta kill Nazis.

That's right, soldier.

If we do it right, the Germans

will never know we were there.

Before we hit the dam,

we're gonna practice on live targets.

What targets?

The Nazis in Reanoto. In our village.

We got more important things

to worry about.

- Like a war.

- This is our war.

Before the dam, we go to our village.

That is our war. Can't you hear it?

And it's getting closer

and closer and closer.

Come on, Aldo. Use your head.

First, Reanoto.

You forgot about

the bargain you made in the cave.

What bargain?

You said we help you, you help us.

What was that?

Just something to keep

the little bambini happy?

We'll kill over 10,000 Nazis

by blowing up that dam.

You go into Reanoto,

maybe you kill a few of them.

Maybe they kill a few of you.

What the hell does that mean?

Respect! A man rapes your mother

and your sister and kills them.

And you don't kill him?

You got no respect!

With you or without you, we go.

But if we go without you,

we don't go to the dam.

And you don't go to the dam either,

because we got the detonators hidden.

Where is the village?

We'll show you.

All right.

Load up with live ammo.

We hit 'em and run, eh, soldier?

Yeah, you little bastards.

Hit 'em and run.

Ehrlich to Captain Von Hecht.

Ehrlich to Captain Von Hecht.

Do you receive me?

Captain Von Hecht here.

We found the missing patrol.

Ehrlich, where are you?

About two miles northwest

of the old flour mill

where the trail branches off

toward the Della Norte dam.

- Wait there.

- Yes, sir.

Now they've got to believe it's the dam.

Yes, sir, but shouldn't

you tell Major Taussig?

I've told him and every other

SS officer in Italy.

To hell with them.

But Major Taussig will listen to me.

It might be worth it at that,

watching the SS admit it's not infallible.

Ehrlich, meet us back at the car.

Please, please. My mother had an accident.

We must get to the doctor in Rappelino.

Please, it's only three miles

to Rappelino.

Heil Hitler.

Major Taussig is at the Grimaldi tunnel.

Hello? Hello?

No, Carlo, like I told you before,

you pull the pin out first

then you slap it into my hand.

Everybody get ready.

Have you got that?

Hurry it up! Everybody down! Down!

Aldo!

Quiet! Everybody back in the truck!

Drop it back now.

Everybody duck!

Dino, get me a pack of that dynamite

and the detonator.

Silvio, hurry up!

Hey, Dottore, you like the way

we handle the Nazis?

Shut up!

Hey, soldier, what's the matter?

We hit 'em and run, just like you said.

I said, shut up!

Round up as many men as you can

and see to the wounded.

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