The Problem With Prisoners Raid

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 7

"The convoy should be about here." Troy had Hitch stop so that he could look for signs of the Germans.

"There Sarge." Hitch pointed to a faint dust plume rising in the distance.

"They're moving slow but that has to be them." Troy decided after watching the dust for a few minutes.

"They know we're out here." Hitch stated as he popped a bubble.

"We haven't exactly been keeping a low profile." Troy answered.

"I figured they'd be watching for us back at that base; they still have Tully." Hitch replied.

"There's no law says they can't be watching for us in both places." Troy smiled at his driver.

"I guess not." Hitch replied. "I just wish we could be there instead of here."

Troy glance over at his driver but he didn't comment. They would all rather be going after Tully but they had their orders. He almost told Hitch to keep his mind on the job at hand but then he thought better of it. It wasn't only Hitch; none of them were focused completely on the job. They just had to destroy this convoy before they could get back to what they really wanted to do. Troy turned back to the dust plume.

"What do you think they're up to Sarge?"

"What do you mean?"

"They're sending out an awful lot of convoys. They must be up to something." Hitch reasoned.

"Moffitt said that he heard a rumor that they were going to make a push for more territory. I guess that's why they need all of those supplies." Troy was still watching the dust.

"Is that the convoy?" Moffitt called from his jeep.

"Yeah it looks like it." Troy answered.

"Then perhaps we should get this bloody show on the road." The Brit sounded unusually impatient.

"We'll set up an ambush." Troy responded. "You park out of sight and we'll try to drive them past you. If they come after you I want you to get out of there." Troy caught Moffitt's eye. "You're a sitting duck without a driver."

"I don't plan on getting myself killed," Moffitt replied tersely, "and I plan on getting my driver back."

Troy smiled. "Then let's get this done so we can do that."

Moffitt relaxed and retuned the smile. "Let's do exactly that."

"They're getting close Sarge; I can see the trucks without binoculars." Hitch interrupted.

"Okay Moffitt. Hide behind those bushes and we'll come up behind them and try to drive them toward you. Hitch and I will do as much damage as we can before we have to turn back."

Moffitt nodded.

"Make sure the halftracks don't spot you." Troy warned his fellow sergeant.

"I'll take care of me." Moffitt promised. "You and Hitch be careful, we already lost Tully."

"We'll get him back." Troy responded in farewell. He gave Hitch a nod and the two teams split to take up their positions. Hitch hid his jeep behind a dune and waited for the convoy to pass them. Troy watched the trucks and hoped that nothing would go wrong.

Moffitt parked his jeep behind a large bush near the top of the dune where he had a good view of the road below. He checked his ammunition and cleared the chamber of the big gun. He made sure that the jeep was in position for a speedy escape if he needed one. He had meant what he said; he wasn't looking to get killed. He wanted to rescue his driver and he had to be alive to do that. Right now he had to wait, but once they destroyed this convoy, there would be no more waiting.

It wasn't long before the throaty sound of heavy engines filled the air. Over the sounds of the engines he could hear a radio playing some German love song. It reminded him of Hitch, who liked to listen to music. Tully always said that the music calmed Hitch when he was restless. Moffitt missed Tully. It was Tully who often calmed him when he was restless. Tully had a quiet way about him that was relaxing despite the dangers they faced on a daily basis.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Troy's gun at the far end of the convoy. The trucks immediately increased their speed in an attempt to escape. From where he hid Moffitt could see Troy toss a hand grenade at the last halftrack. The armored vehicle lurched to a stop as smoke poured from the rear. Troy's 50 mingled with the sounds of racing motors.

The lead halftrack passed Moffitt's position while looking for a place to turn around. Moffitt used his 50 to take out the gun crew. The driver kept going with no gun to defend him. Moffitt concentrated on the trucks that came within range of his gun. Some of the trucks got past but he managed to do his share of damage despite being stationary. Troy and Hitch raced past in pursuit of the fleeing trucks. When the other halftracks took up the fight Troy had Hitch break off the attack. Troy waved at Moffitt to get out of there while he kept the Germans busy.

Moffitt raced past the trucks that had fallen to their ambush. There were some they might have to come back and finish destroying but for now he wanted to find the others. He breathed a sigh of relief when he sighted Troy and Hitch coming his way.

"Where were you?" Moffitt asked when they got close enough to talk.

"Those halftracks didn't want to quit." Troy called. "Hitch had to shake them. How'd we do on the convoy?"

"There are a few we may need to blow up before we leave but they didn't get much through." Moffitt replied.

Troy nodded. "Then let's do it and go after Tully." They circled back, careful to keep an eye out for any survivors. No one was moving around the trucks as they cautiously approached.

"Sarge!" Hitch called urgently. He pointed to a line of tracks leading away from the trucks.

"Follow them."

Driving slowly, Hitch followed the tracks as they led away from the trucks. Here and there they found spots of blood.

"Looks like someone was wounded." Troy stated.

"Are we going to follow them?" Hitch asked.

Troy glanced back at the convoy. "No, those halftracks will be back to check for wounded. They'll find him and make sure he gets help. Let's head back and finish this job so we can go after Tully."

Just then the force of an explosion rocked the ground. Troy looked over to see Moffitt driving away from a second truck. That one exploded too as the hand grenade the sergeant had armed detonated. By the time Troy and Hitch returned Moffitt had destroyed all of the abandoned trucks.

"All done Troy." Moffitt spoke as the other jeep stopped next to him. "We can head back for the base now."

"Did you check to see what they were carrying?"

"I have it all right here." Moffitt patted his pocket where he kept a small notepad.

"All right then, let's head out." Behind them a shot rang out but the bullet didn't hit anywhere near them.

"Who was that?" Moffitt asked.

Troy looked back and shrugged. "Just some kraut that got wounded in the attack. We found the tracks where he ran from one of the trucks. Those halftracks will be back, they'll find him."

"Will they look over there?" Moffitt asked. He hated to leave an injured man to die in the desert despite his need to go after Tully.

"He can walk back to the convoy and wait for help." Troy reasoned. "Or he can fire a shot to get their attention. He'll be okay."

"Shall we be on our way then?" The Brit urged.

"We'll circle around." Troy explained. "I don't want to run into those halftracks on their way back."

"Okay Sarge." Hitch nodded. He swung the jeep around the abandoned trucks, making sure to avoid the hill where the wounded German had taken shelter. They hadn't gone very far when Troy tapped him on the shoulder and ordered him to stop. "What's wrong Sarge?"

"Moffitt's still worried about that wounded German." Troy answered. "I can see it in his face. Find us a place to keep watch and we'll wait until they pick him up."

Hitch gave a nod and began to look for a point high enough to watch the abandoned trucks. He headed for a hill slightly higher than the others. He planned to park the jeep behind the hill and let Troy and Moffitt climb to the top to watch the German activity. He circled around and turned off his engine. Moffitt parked right behind him.

"What's wrong Hitch?"

"Nothing Doc. Sarge wants to take another look at that convoy."

Moffitt turned a puzzled look to Troy. "Did we miss something?"

"You're worried about that wounded German." Troy answered. "We can wait long enough to make sure he gets picked up."

"What about Tully?"

"We've waited this long, another fifteen or twenty minutes isn't going to make that much of a difference."

"Are you certain of that?" Moffitt asked.

"No, but I'm willing to take the chance." Troy replied. "Tully wouldn't want us to leave someone to die of thirst out here just to rescue him a few minutes earlier."

"You're right; Tully has a very compassionate personality. He would want us to make sure the wounded man was picked up."

"As soon as they get him we head out."

Moffitt nodded his agreement.

Ten minutes later they saw the halftracks return and search the abandoned trucks. A figure staggered out from the nearby hill and was surrounded by the soldiers from the armored vehicle.

"There he is." Moffitt stated with relief. "Now we can go."

"Let's shake it." Troy called so Hitch could hear. The two sergeants ran for the jeeps.

Hitch was waiting expectantly, watching as they approached. "Look out!" He jumped for the 50 in the rear of his jeep.

"What is it Hitch?" Troy called as he hid behind a rock.

"I saw movement on that hill over there." Hitch pointed to a hill not far away.

"How many?"

"I couldn't tell."

"Stay on the 50." Troy ordered as he and Moffitt reached the jeeps. "Moffitt and I will go take a look." The sergeants reached for the submachine guns in the fender holsters then turned and ran for the hill. "Moffitt, tell them to surrender. Try German first and then Arabic."

Before Moffitt could answer a voice floated down to them. "I speak English Sarge."

"Tully!" Troy lowered his weapon and ran toward the source of the voice. He found Tully in a hole he had dug curled into a ball. "Are you okay? One of the krauts told us you were wounded."

"Caught a bullet in my side." Tully answered with a weak grin. He nodded at Moffitt as the Brit dropped to his side. "They took me to a hospital though."

"We heard." Troy smiled happily.

"You got any water Sarge?"

Troy's smile died a he noticed Tully's color. "Hitch, bring a canteen." He called to his driver.

Moffitt was busily checking Tully's injuries.

"I'm okay Doc." Tully assured him. "That German doctor did a good job. The morphine is starting to wear off though."

"We'll take care of that immediately." The Brit promised.

"Did you miss me?" Tully asked as Moffitt continued to fuss over him.

"Of course I did, we did." Moffitt corrected. "How did you get clear out here?"

"I was on that convoy." Tully answered. "I got away when the driver separated from the other trucks to avoid your attack."

"We've been looking for you." Troy told him.

"I heard." Tully nodded tiredly.

Hitch arrived with the canteen and froze when he spotted Tully. "Tully!"

"Yeah, it's me." Tully grinned. "Can I have some of that water?"

Hitch jerked into action. "Sorry. Here you go." He handed the canteen to Tully. "How did you get out here?"

"He can explain everything later." Moffitt interrupted. "Right now the important thing is that we have him back. He needs his rest and we have to get away from here."

Hitch looked up in surprise. Moffitt was not usually so short with them.

"We can talk later." Troy spoke when he saw the surprise in his driver's eyes. "Moffitt's right, we need to get out of here. We'll find a place to rest and check Tully's injuries. We'll head back to the base as soon as we all get some more rest."

"Right Sarge." Hitch answered. He took a step back, giving Moffitt room to help Tully to his feet.

"You can rest and then tell us what happened." Moffitt told Tully. "We've waited this long to find out what happened, a little longer isn't going to matter."

"Okay Doc." Tully agreed. "I am kind of tired." As the others helped him into the jeep Tully thought about the last few days. After he got some rest he would tell them about his capture. He would tell them about Captain Tieger, another honorable German officer, and about Martin. They could tell him about their efforts to rescue him. Things were back to normal, he was home. Tully smiled as he drifted off to sleep.