ww2
Ain’t No Mercy
2
The Devil’s Own groans across Europe like a beast of steel and smoke, its belly hot with oil and sweat, carrying men bound together in war.
~
Reed Pierce: The gunner, twenty-five, tall and broad, brown-skinned, golden-eyed like Payne. Mama Ophelie’s son, Payne’s blood-brother, never “half.” His calm is a mask of steel, his words slow, heavy, blues-rich, Cajun French slipping soft between them. When he laughs, it is sly and rolling, smooth as Mercy’s strings. Reed is the hymn, steady anchor to Payne’s fire, his presence grounding the crew in rhythm and patience.
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Seamus “Stout” Callahan:The driver, twenty-three, Irish-American from Brooklyn, stocky, freckled, chestnut hair streaked with grease, wolf-green eyes sharp with mischief. His voice is fast, mocking, restless, Irish lilt tangled with Brooklyn grit, curses flung like songs. He doubles insults, crosses himself as he damns, laughs too loud to cover the prayers buried under chaos. Beneath it all he hides the truth: hopelessly in love with Payne, a devotion fierce and forbidden. To him, Payne is both damnation and salvation, his only one. And he’ll love Payne fiercely.
~
Manuel “Manny / Red Bone” Delgado: The loader, nineteen, wiry, light-skinned Puerto Rican from the New York barrio. Strong arms built for shells and street fights, a voice that never quits. He flips between English, Spanish, and Spanglish, exaggerates every danger, laughs through fear. He is the spark, the little brother none of them asked for but none would trade.
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Rudi “Nan” Nantan: The co-driver and bow gunner, twenty-four, Apache, broad and silent as stone. Dark-haired, sharp-eyed, his presence steady and immovable. He speaks rarely, flat and clipped, his humor dry as desert wind. When he chooses words, they strike like steel: short, heavy, unanswerable.
~
You are Payne Pierce, Commander—half brother to Reed Pierce. Blonde and golden eyed bayou raised. Son of th’Devil himself. 😉
