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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 10, 2007 0:10:50 GMT -5
Summer in Britain should've been a marvelous thought but for one small town girl, it meant having to track down a story she didn't want to hear and deliver it to people who shouldn't have to know. War could never be a happy thing, that much was sure, but she just thought that taking this job would give her some closure. If she knew exactly what was going on, maybe she wouldn't have been quite so worried... or, at least she'd know when she was supposed to worry.
Germany had already invaded Denmark and Normandy and taken France. They were now attempting to shut Britain off of all resources. She picked the perfect time to be in England. She was here to question some officer (probably down the line who would only know what he was told to say for plausible deniability) on how British forces would be holding up and she only hoped she could keep the fear out of her voice as she did so.
Bev couldn't seem to stop fidgeting with her clothes as if it mattered how she looked. She just wasn't used to being in potentially dangerous situations. Naturally, she arrived half an hour early... not that she had anything else to do... and sat in the military base as she waited, looking around at everyone in their uniforms passing by. If only one of them were David...
But they all were David in a way, weren't they?
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Post by Lieutenant Christian Broderick on Sept 10, 2007 0:39:18 GMT -5
There wasn't anything Christian wouldn't rather be doing than talking to a journalist right now. He really harbored only bad feelings toward them, mostly because of Amber. If his commanding officer hadn't told him that he could either do an interview or he could be stuck behind a desk for the rest of his life, he would never have agreed to do it. Christian Broderick belonged in the field.
As he wasn't overly thrilled with this whole meeting, he didn't bother to freshen up before he stepped into the reception area of the base. His hair was a little messy, his collar was turned up and his jacket was hanging open. He picked her out immediately, as she was the only professional looking woman around, the others were all either crying or wandering around asking about loved ones. She was exceptionally beautiful, but he didn't let that fool him. Amber had been gorgeous too.
"Miss?" he asked, walking over to her, then noticed her wedding ring. "I'm sorry, Mrs." he said. "Am I correct in assuming that you are here for an," he paused very briefly, trying not to grind his teeth at the word, "Interview?" he asked. At least if she was married, she wouldn't be trying to seduce him. For some reason he had developed a conspiracy theory since Amber. All journalists were sadistic creatures that went after men for their standings and stole what little innocence they had in the first place.
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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 10, 2007 0:48:16 GMT -5
Beverly stood, fixing her skirt again as the man approached her, not nearly as neat as she had expected but she supposed grooming wasn't top priority during wartime. She was just so used to soldiers looking perfectly put together. That was what she normally saw, anyway. She was happy to get someone who was different this time, thought. Everyone else tried to impress her to get a good name in the paper... she just wanted the truth.
She smiled softly, nodding slightly as he corrected himself on her marital status. Extending her arm in a formal greeting, she introduced herself. "Hi. Beverly Coburn. New York Times. I really hope I'm not troubling you too much," she said, offering the last part sympathetically as he seemed rather averse to having this interview.
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Post by Lieutenant Christian Broderick on Sept 10, 2007 0:57:54 GMT -5
He stared at her hand for a few seconds, thinking that he would really rather not take it, but as he was a polite man, he did. Snapping his heels together and bowing his head in a military greeting, he said, "Lieutenant Christian Broderick." He let go of her hand rather quickly, and forced himself to say, "No, not at all. My pleasure."
He ran a hand through his messy hair. "So, my office would be a nice place for this." the last thing he wanted was a Yankee journalist in his office, but what choice did he have? He wasn't about to give an interview in the middle of the reception area of the civilian authorized sector of a military base. "Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm with a mental reluctance. This was almost as bad as the circus, only she didn't scare him as bad as the clowns. She just made him want to shoot something.
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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 10, 2007 1:07:04 GMT -5
Bev smiled sweetly again and took his arm. He still seemed the slightest bit reluctant but that could've just been her imagination. Then again... she probably wouldn't want to be talking to her if she was in his shoes so she really couldn't blame him. Who wants to have to bring back incidents like the ones she might ask of him?
She really didn't know what questions she was going to ask him save for a few but three or four questions never really seemed to be enough when people didn't want to give straight answers. All she really wanted was to know where her husband was and what he would be doing and she wanted to be able to give other women that knowledge as well. Why did everything have to be so secretive?
Glancing around the room, she saw the crying women, taking hold of their children for support. She could relate to them so easily and wished they wouldn't have had to face any of that. Well, she did until she realized that a solemn look had been placed on her face as she watched a woman embracing her small son. She shook it off and put the smile back on so she wouldn't seem as emotional as she really was, turning her attention back to the Lieutenant.
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Post by Lieutenant Christian Broderick on Sept 10, 2007 1:27:10 GMT -5
Christian noticed her watching the crying women, but didn't say anything, especially when the smile returned to her face as she turned he attention back on him. He had always tried to avoid the crying ones, as he couldn't do anything for them. It just made his determination to win this war and get all their men home safe that much stronger. The woman on his arm had a certain something about her that he couldn't quite place. He had only really noticed it as she had watched the woman, but he saw it nonetheless. Maybe she wasn't so bad, maybe she was decent as far as journalist went. Still, it could all be an act, so Christian remained wary.
He led her a ways through the base until they reached his office. Opening the door, he extended his arm inward in a gentlemanly fashion. No matter how much he disliked her, he was going to be polite to her. He was always polite to ladies, as he was raised to do so. He had retained all of the old fashioned niceties of his parents' generation and he was glad for it. He'd seen the way his mates had gone after women in that disgusting way and started brawls in the pubs. He was thankful that he wasn't like that.
He waited for her to go inside, leaving the door open (more for his own comfort than for hers, but it still seemed like a friendly gesture), then walked over to the chair in front of his desk, pulling it out for her. After she was settled, he went to the chair behind his desk and sat down. He suddenly felt rather rude at looking disorderly, he could see his reflection on the glass of the picture of his sister, her husband, and his niece that was sitting on his desk. She definitely wouldn't have approved of him looking like that, she would've straightened him out right away. He flipped his collar down, somewhat ashamed. "So..." he said, raising his eyebrows, and spreading his hands, "What is it you want to know?"
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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 10, 2007 16:11:02 GMT -5
This man was much more of a gentleman than first appearances would have him seem. Naturally, she was used to being treated this way… she just hadn’t expected it this time. As they walked, she considered her approach and just how much he would try to get out of him after he’d already proven that he wanted no more with her. This was something she normally did. She tried to calculate just how far she could push someone by behavioral patterns and she was normally quite accurate but she never pushed people to the limit. She could have no way of knowing for sure that she was correct and she would never want to anger someone who already had so much to deal with (not that she’d want to anger anyone else…).
Upon entering the office, she glanced around automatically, taking in everything she could get from it. After thanking him and taking her seat, she noticed that he had pictures on his desk, although the content of these photographs were unknown to her as they were facing him. His family, she guessed… maybe he had a wife and even kids waiting for him at home… although she was sensing that Britain was becoming less and less safe… particularly with its proximity to places such as France that had already been lost.
She’d been hoping for an American officer but the ARMY had turned her away from the start. They’d been doing that lately… keeping journalists who would potentially spread anything other than propaganda from getting that information (and she wasn't exactly known as the type to play by the books. Somehow she'd earned herself a reputation through rumors). She really just liked being able to relate to who she was interviewing but this would do. It was a far better than nothing and maybe she would get some real facts from a new approach… who knew? She would just have to do her best and hope she didn’t make a trip for nothing (… especially since this wasn’t the only thing she’d be doing while she was here)
She pulled a thin, silver pen and a small notepad out of her purse and flipped the notepad open. “Alright…” she said to herself, clicking her pen and looking back up at him. She almost never looked at the notepad as she wrote because she loved the atmosphere of a normal conversation even when it wasn’t quite so informal. “Lieutenant Broderick… The air in Britain is growing increasingly frantic and I wonder if you might comment on whether or not this is caused by fear of an attack from German forces.” She hoped to word her questions carefully so they sounded less like questions and more like requests. Maybe that would make him more comfortable with her as an interviewer… maybe not.
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Post by Lieutenant Christian Broderick on Sept 10, 2007 21:47:39 GMT -5
Christian sighed, sitting back in his chair, buttoning his jacket so that he could cross his hands over his stomach. She seemed to be trying to make him feel more comfortable, which was, of course, impossible. It almost made him feel as if she was lulling him into a false sense of security. Glancing around at his sparsely decorated office (the only decoration besides the picture was a handmade cuckoo clock that his father had made and his mother had painted; Lainie had even helped by painting the steeple, only it was purple and contrasted very oddly with the orange of the house), he thought of what to say next.
"I think that it worries the public, yes." he said finally, "The German threat has never been more imminent." he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Personally, I don't think those jerries will be able to touch Britain. Not for a long while anyway." he studied her with cautious eyes, "Wouldn't you be worried if the Nazis were on your doorstep?" he actually didn't mind the fighting, just not so close to home, where his family was.
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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 10, 2007 23:40:55 GMT -5
Her hand paused for a moment, looking at him with a blank expression as she considered his question. With a small, ironic smile, she nodded slowly… but the war was close to home for her too. Or, well, the only thing that could ever make her feel at home again. Maybe she was just being dramatic but how did one ever know?
She closed her eyes pensively for only a moment before asking, “So you do think Germany will try to invade Britain?” she asked even though she didn’t need to. The answer was obvious but Jack said obvious didn’t matter to people who have no common sense and you always have to have someone to quote or you’ll be easy to discredit. None of it ever made sense to her but she didn’t consider herself a real journalist… more like an amateur in the right place at the right time.
The effects of the war hadn’t quite hit most of Britain yet but she could sense the fear. Heck, she was afraid. They all knew what was coming… they would just have to pray they could handle it. Beverly knew they could’ve handled it if someone had spoken up when the axis was just invading smaller countries. They gave them a chance to build up a stronger army than they had imagined and look where they were now. Those words she would never print… it just wasn’t her place. And it just pointed the finger in another direction. The last thing they needed was someone else to blame.
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Post by Lieutenant Christian Broderick on Sept 11, 2007 0:01:42 GMT -5
Christian watched her blankly for a moment. Slowly, he shrugged. "Even Hitler isn't bollocks enough to think he can invade Britain." he said, "Invade, no. Annihilate, yes." He closed his eyes a moment, mentally smacking himself. He wasn't quite sure his superiors would like him saying that. He couldn't believe he was about to ask a favor of this reporter woman, but it was necessary. She would probably print it anyway, as all they seemed to care about were their needs and causing pandemonium, "Er... can we keep that last comment off the record... please?"
"It's just that I'm a soldier, a career soldier, and that's my personal opinion." he sighed, "And I'd most likely get into loads of trouble for saying that. Yes, we are maintaining that Germany wants to put their greedy little hands on Britain. We are also maintaining that they have another thing coming if they try." he watched her for her reaction, trying to gage if she would be telling the truth about printing what he didn't want her to.
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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 11, 2007 0:18:44 GMT -5
Bev hesitated again, biting her lower lip before making her decision. It would be a wonderful thing to print… but he was a soldier and he probably would get in trouble for that. She just wasn’t that type of journalist. “Of course,” she said, nodding as she scratched out the bit she’d written and moved on. “So Britain will be ready for an attack…” she said, more of a comment than a question. Of course he was to assume they’d be ready.
“Already Britain has suffered great loss in the sinking of the Lancastria. Would you like to comment?” She leaned forward a bit, touching the cool edge of her pen to her bottom lip as she normally did when she was very interested in a question. She realized that this was personal and hoped she wasn’t being too personal for the lieutenant but she wanted to have the words of an Englishman on this tragedy. It wasn’t just for the paper there… she liked to hear how people felt about things… how differently they react in comparison to her.
Beverly was appalled that they would refuse to allow the British press to print anything about it but she didn’t really understand. To her, they could honor the deaths with a story… letting everyone know what happened. She wouldn’t say anything about it, though, because she was afraid that she might have just been ignorant to the actual intentions of the military.
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Post by Lieutenant Christian Broderick on Sept 11, 2007 0:45:05 GMT -5
Beverly seemed to be telling the complete truth when she said she'd strike his remark from the record. She even scratched it out on her notepad. She wasn't half bad as far as reporters went. She even seemed like a decent and respectable lady, but then, he supposed Amber had as well. He really needed to stop thinking about that wanton, as he couldn't go through his life suspecting everyone of being like her. It was especially unfair to all the journalists out there, but he didn't think he would be able to get over his dislike of them, at least not easily.
"Yes. She will be." Christian responded to her comment. He drummed his fingers on the wooden surface of his desk as he thought about how best to reply to this new question. "You should probably look to her royal navy for information about the Lancastria. It's not really for the army to disclose those facts. All I will say is that it's Lusitania again, only worse. I can refer you to my brother-in-law, Colonel Lucian Eden, if you have any more questions on the topic. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to answer your questions, as he spends most of his days on the naval base cooped up behind a desk." He stopped drumming his fingers on the desk, thinking kind of like I am right now... But then he felt rather rude for thinking that, as she did seem fairly decent.
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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 11, 2007 15:30:15 GMT -5
Beverly nodded and quickly wrote down the name, glad to have someone else to interview as well. Who knows, if they were lucky, maybe the Times would be the only paper to get the story. Hopefully she wouldn’t be disrespecting their memory in writing it but she didn’t see anything wrong with it and, of course, she would pull out if she ever did. It just seemed a story that should be told… so that they wouldn’t have died for nothing. The more true evils of the new war revealed, the more military involvement would be placed in bringing this force down. This was going to take more than they had ever expected and she would much rather they all be ready and step on a few toes than avoid getting anyone angry and lose the war.
This wasn’t a war that could be lost.
Now, at a time when the US was intent on appearing neutral, she knew that the people needed to be moved to take action. All they had to do was show them what was really happening and how possible it was for the Axis to invade the US after they’d taken Europe and the people would be moved into action. She wasn’t sure about other reporters but just a few ships here and there would not suffice and she intended to show this to the people. “Do you feel the need for increased American involvement?” she asked him, possibly her final question if she worded it right. She just wanted to be sure to get the point across.
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Post by Lieutenant Christian Broderick on Sept 11, 2007 19:26:06 GMT -5
Christian chose his words very carefully before replying. It wouldn't do to insult the Americans, especially since she was one and all. "America should have been involved from the beginning. I believe that the war would be going much faster if we had American support. Besides, what affects Europe affects the world. Do you think Hitler will stop here? The ocean may be big, but it's not as effective a barrier as one might think."
He was silent a moment, sensing that the interview was coming to a close. "Is there anything else you want to know before you leave, Mrs. Coburn?" he asked. She hadn't been snotty or pushy, and admittedly, this surprised him. She actually seemed like a classy, sophisticated, gentlewoman from the American South. If they had met on different terms (and she hadn't been a journalist), they may have even been endeared to friendship.
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Post by Beverly Coburn on Sept 11, 2007 20:59:12 GMT -5
Beverly smiled a bit, more than satisfied with that answer. Looking down at her notebook, she thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No, no… I think that’ll be enough,” she said, smiling sweetly at him and then standing. The fact that he’d asked the question alone showed that he was ready to end the interview… as he probably had been from the start. “Thank you very much, Lieutenant,” she said, slipping the notepad and the pen in their rightful places in her bag, she reached out her hand to shake his again.
She knew that these people did not need to waste their time talking to some reporter so she tried not to take up much of it and she was always polite (mostly because of her upbringing). Besides, she was happy with this interview… especially if she got some comments out of the Colonel he had mentioned before. She didn’t get her hopes up, though, because the British government was coming down pretty hard on people who talked so she wouldn’t expect anyone to tell her too much. It was just nice to have something to try.
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