FOR: Lt. Col. Robert Sink, Commander, 506th PIR

SUBJECT: Summary Notes on Activities of Soviet Liaison 1st Lt. Svetlana Samonova and colleague 2nd Lt. Zhanna Casmirovna

DATE: December 13, 1942

Nixon stopped typing. Leaning back in his chair, he yawned and stretched his arms. The dress shirt he wore made the action difficult, so he pushed out from behind the desk and moved around inside. He wanted a drink, anyways.

It'd been about a week since the Soviet girls had shown up. Sink had pulled him aside the week before. With Major Strayer, they'd sat him down and explained the situation. Or at least what they knew of the situation. Given his interest in being transferred to Intelligence, they'd give him the job of keeping an eye on Svetlana, and in turn, her sniper friend Zhanna.

Zhanna was the real question. Not that Svetlana wasn't intriguing; she held the obvious power of the two. Politically, academically, physically, Svetlana was the hurricane. But Zhanna... what was Zhanna?

A damn good shot, for one. Nixon had looked at her file. Thirty-one kills in thirty days. Almost unbelievable really. Maybe the Soviets had faked her records. He'd considered it. He knew Sink and Strayer certainly had. Sitting back down, he set up the typewriter. Nixon had almost believed that, too. Until he'd watched her.

PART ONE: Initial Observations of 2nd. Lt. Zhanna Casmirovna

While small stature was initially a cause for concern, Casmirovna has kept up with the men in Easy Company without issue. Any concern for her physical fitness seems to be a moot point. She carries herself as a soldier should. There is no doubt in my mind that she is well trained.

Casmirovna's integration into Easy Company has been-

Nixon paused his typing. The silence hung in the air for a moment. In the office he'd commandeered for the evening, he took a small drink of whiskey. The sun had gone down hours ago. He glanced at his watch. 2130 hours.

Looking back at the paper he tried to focus. What was he supposed to say? The integration had gone terribly. The men made Zhanna's life hell. And unlike Svetlana, who seemed to exist in a constant state of subtle defiance, Zhanna hadn't been belligerent. She'd been quiet, reserved. In fact, he'd have doubted her ability to fight if he hadn't seen her ready to throw hands with Malarkey over her rifle.

In that instant, Zhanna had changed. The girl who refused to make eye contact and struggled with English switched to cold aggression. The men had laughed. But they'd also walked away. If Nixon was honest with himself, it was that moment that solidified his belief that she was every bit as capable as the intelligence reports said.

Casmirovna's integration into Easy Company has been slow. The men are reluctant to accept a woman Soviet, as was expected. Hesitance to show her trust has somewhat hindered the efficiency of Casmirovna, and of the platoon. Also as expected, Casmirovna is hesitant to converse in anything but Russian. Knowing this, though, I don't think her use of Russian with Samsonova is to hide an ulterior motive.

He let the page sit untouched for another moment. He had more on his mind, one thing in particular that he couldn't quite explain. Her name, it felt off. Something wasn't right. Based purely on the names in Svetlana's file, the ending didn't fit the pattern he'd been finding/

But he only had speculation. Definitely nothing worth putting in his first report to Sink. If he had something concrete, and if it posed a threat, then he'd alert the Colonel.

A threat. The next part of the report would have to be more forthright.

PART TWO: Initial Observations of 1st Lt. Svetlana Samsonova

As previously noted in her file, Samsonova is considered a potential intelligence threat for the US Army. Based on the information given to us from the British Special Operations Executive, she has been positively identified as the daughter of NKVD leadership staff member Alexander Samsonov. Samsonov previously worked against the Allies' aims during the war and helped draw up the Treaty of Non-Aggression with Germany. He is a known friend of Stalin and Beria. Extremely dangerous. As such, Samsonova is still considered a potential threat despite the Soviet declaration of war against the Germans.

My initial impression of Samsonova did not surprise me. She is-

Nixon paused again. Putting Svetlana into words would be difficult. She'd not done anything explicitly disrespectful or against orders. But that didn't mean he hadn't seen her working Sobel whenever she had a cause to. He smirked. He had to admit, it was kind of entertaining. She clearly knew she held power, even if that power came from the fact that the US Army had expressed the need to keep her on good terms. They couldn't risk angering the Soviet secret police by disrespecting the daughter of one of its key members.

US-Soviet relations remained tense. They were a threat; actively, outspokenly communist and as such, untrustworthy. Even if Britain had a treaty with them, and thus they were allied with the United States, Nixon was quite sure both sides knew it couldn't last forever.

Which side of the equation Svetlana Samsonova fell on, he still didn't know. He still couldn't figure out why she'd joined the snipers. Something didn't feel right there. She had everything she could've wanted that Russia had to offer right at her fingertips in Stalingrad. But instead she'd gotten as far away from the political power as possible. Why?

My initial impression of Samsonova did not surprise me. She is accustomed to the politics at play with her presence. I am positive she is aware of her value to the Army, or at least the value of her family name. That being said, I have seen no reason to believe she is an active spy or other intelligence threat.

Samsonova's integration with Easy Company is also going as expected. The men are distrustful of her, perhaps even more so than Casmirovna. Where Casmirovna is having difficulty maintaining the respect of the men, it's clear that they recognize Samsonova as the primary threat.

That word again. Threat. Was she a threat? Nixon sat back and sighed. She was, and she wasn't. The way she carried herself put a target on her back, either way though. Cobb was the most publicly outspoken against her. But others joined, including Alley and More. The three of them took an aggressive stance against her presence.

Her reactions worried him. The one reason he still considered her a potentially significant intelligence threat was the way she could change on a dime. One minute, smiling and calm. The next, looking at the men with a glare so intense some of them physically stepped back. He'd caught Luz joking that she was just like Sobel. Nixon disagreed there. She had too much control to be compared to Sobel.

She managed to manipulate Sobel in her favor. He'd known it of course, when on day one she'd spoken out during formation and, despite remaining calm, she had reminded him of her political power with feigned innocence and gentle words. Nixon had been impressed, and he'd seen the way the enlisted looked at her change then and there. It was at that moment their teasing and heckling became less about fun and more about spite.

The men threw everything they could at her. The rumor that she'd slept her way out of Europe had started circling by day two. By the third day, the men of First became convinced that she was a political prisoner. Nixon had to roll his eyes at that one. A political prisoner wouldn't be trained as a paratrooper. Everyone called her Commie. No one said it to her face.

All the while she maintained a quiet calm under the brashness of the men. But he could see through it, sometimes. Their talk infuriated her. He'd seen her right hand trembling and the way the corners of her mouth would drop just a little. Nixon knew the smiles were fake. But he had to hand it to her, she still flashed her smile around.

Even so, every once in a while, that practiced facade fell away completely. And when it dropped, it tended to drop because of Zhanna. The more he thought about Svetlana, the more he realized he needed to spend more time digging into Zhanna Casmirovna. He made a mental note.

When it dropped, the sheer level of hatred he could see in her mannerism worried him. And the fact that he couldn't tell who that hatred was aimed at, that was the threat. Was it the men for their disrespect? Was it for their treatment of her friend? Or was it towards America. He returned to the report.

Samsonova is maintaining distance from herself and the men on purpose. What she hopes to achieve by this is unknown. If she was placed here as a spy as Washington would like us to consider, it seems counterproductive. I believe her desire to get home to be genuine and her primary motivation. However the potential for her to become dangerous should not be underestimated.

RECOMMENDATIONS: for Lt. Col. Sink's consideration

Maintain observation of both 2nd Lt. Casmirovna and 1st Lt. Samsonova. I will continue my reports as needed if the Colonel requires it.

Recommend that 1st Lt. Winters take a more active role in the integration of Casmirovna into Easy Company.

I still believe the primary threat to be Samsonova, but I believe that Samsonova is most likely to become dangerous if Casmirovna is disrespected or harmed based on their interactions. Samsonova has become most aggressive when faced with Casmirovna's hazing.

Samsonova may also need direct intervention to integrate her into Easy Company, but I have hopes that her confidence will turn the men in her favor, seeing her as a strong ally. Time will tell.

Continue the investigation into Samsonova's connection with the NKVD

Submitted by 1st Lt. Lewis Nixon, Easy Company, 506th PIR

To Nixon, the third point remained the most vital. Svetlana's connection to the Soviet secret police could shed light on her loyalties. The fact that she'd left her relatively easy life as a rich, politically safe young woman to become a soldier didn't sit right. Something about her claim to have left the spotlight in Stalingrad for the glory of the Motherland sounded hollow.

She'd left for a reason. Nixon knew it. There had to be an explanation. And maybe if he could get that problem sorted out, it would shed some light on her mysterious, deadly sniper friend. Zhanna fit into that somewhere. The teenager was as different from Svetlana as Svetlana was from the Americans.

He pulled the paper out of the typewriter. With a final drink of his glass of Vat 69, Nixon stood from the desk. His legs hurt from sitting for so long. He grabbed a pen from whoever's desk he'd taken over and signed and initialed the final paper.

With the papers in a manila envelope and placed in Colonel Sink's inbox, he moved to leave. Nixon flipped off the lights. He blinked in the dark. Once he'd stepped outside, he looked up at the sky. The chill of December sent shivers down his spine. He yawned. Dick would probably be asleep by the time he got back to the quarters they shared with Moose. Good for him, too. He deserved it. They all deserved it. With a final deep breath, he left the office shack and the typewriter behind.