Fortunes of War
By:AliasCWN
Chapter 1
Captain Boggs had assigned the Rat Patrol to locate a large German force that was reported to have crossed into Allied held territory. After five days of crisscrossing the desert with no results Troy was feeling frustrated.
"A force that size doesn't just disappear!"
"The desert is a big place." Moffitt answered calmly.
"Not that big!" Troy jabbed a finger at the map on the hood of the jeep. "According to headquarters Jerry was spotted here a little over eight days ago." He looked up as Moffitt nodded in agreement. "And that pilot said it they were headed northeast." Moffitt nodded again but Troy didn't look up this time. "A force that size wouldn't be able to move very fast, especially with halftracks." Troy continued. "They'd need to stay near waterholes to replenish their drinking water."
"Here and here." Moffitt pointed at the map. "These are the only two that are northeast of their last known location."
"But we checked both of them, there aren't any fresh tracks near either of them!" Troy's frustration made his voice sound harsh. At the sound of his voice Hitch looked up from where he was stirring their rations. Troy seldom got short with Moffitt but from the sound of things this was one of those rare occasions. "Why hasn't anyone else reported seeing them? They couldn't just disappear!"
"Yet it seems that that is exactly what they've done old man." Moffitt smiled, unfazed by Troy's outburst.
"How?" Troy's voice had dropped back to its natural level so Hitch went back to stirring the food.
"Perhaps they set up some sort of base camp among the hills." The Brit suggested.
"The planes flew over them and didn't report seeing anything." Troy argued.
Moffitt shrugged his thin shoulders and looked back down at the map. "I suppose it's possible that the Germans used nets as camouflage and the planes just didn't notice them. The German planes miss us under the netting."
"A force that size?" Troy asked incredulously.
"Think about it Troy. What if the Germans are setting up a new base, or even a temporary one? If they had enough time they could have done a pretty fair job of covering the vehicles. The men would blend in well enough with their desert uniforms. We've done much the same thing many times over." The Brit explained thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but we're only two small jeeps and four men."
"True, but we can blend in without much warning. That commander knew we would be looking for them, he had plenty of time to prepare."
Troy stared at the map trying to picture what Moffitt was suggesting. His head started to bob as his quick mind considered the possibilities. "All right, suppose they did set up a camp somewhere in the hills, they still need water."
"True." Moffitt agreed.
"So where could they find enough water for that many men?"
Moffitt shrugged his shoulders again and smiled at Troy's expression. Sobering, he looked down at the map again. "To the best of my knowledge there is no sustainable source of water in those hills. If this were the rainy season they could possibly trap and collect run-off, but the rainy season is still months away. I suppose it is possible that they found a new source that I am not aware of, but unlikely. The Arabs would know of any water and they might have told the Germans but I think that I would have heard of it too."
Troy slammed his hand down on the hood in disgust. "They must have changed directions after the plane spotted them."
"Perhaps." Moffitt nodded. "But that would have taken them through areas that we patrol regularly. As you pointed out, no one else has reported any sightings. They may have found a way to hide a camp but hiding while traveling undetected is another matter."
"We've done it."
"We're only two jeeps and four men." Moffitt smiled as he repeated Troy's earlier observation.
Troy sighed. "But it's not impossible?"
"I wouldn't say anything was impossible," the Brit smiled, "just highly unlikely."
Troy shook his head and looked back down at the map. "If I didn't know better I'd say this was one of Dietrich's schemes. He's smart enough to pull something like this off and sneaky enough to think of it in the first place."
"They did make one mistake." Moffitt offered some encouragement.
"What's that?"
"They allowed that plane to spot them and report the sighting."
"Yeah," Troy grunted, "a fat lot of good that did us."
"It let us know they were coming and gave us a place to start."
"Yeah, but no idea where they went."
"But we know they are out there and we are looking for them."
Troy suddenly smiled. "I wonder if they took that into consideration when they made their plans."
"You can ask them when we find them." Moffitt laughed.
"Our orders are to locate that force and report its position." Troy grinned. "The Captain didn't say anything about dropping in for a visit."
"Just as well." Moffitt decided. "I doubt that they would be very sociable with uninvited guests anyway."
"Yeah, well, we still have to find them." Troy answered.
"I can head for the nearest town and ask the locals if they have seen anything out of the ordinary." The Brit suggested.
Troy shook his head. "I don't want to announce our presence if the locals are helping them. We'll save that as a last resort. If we don't find them we can always ask later."
"I can be discreet."
"I know, I just don't want to take that chance unless it becomes necessary." Troy frowned as he went back to the map. The water problem still stumped him. The two sergeants put their heads together and debated the pros and cons of each location they considered. They were still at it when Hitch delivered their meals.
"Still no idea where to look?" Hitch asked as he handed them the plates.
Troy took the plate and frowned at the map. "We have a couple of possibilities but none that really stand out."
"Doc can't help with that?"
Moffitt paused with a bite halfway to his mouth and smiled. "While I appreciate your confidence in my abilities, even I cannot know everything."
"You could have fooled me." Hitch grinned. "Maybe we could get you a crystal ball or something."
"No thank you, I prefer to have a few mysteries left in the world." The Brit replied seriously.
"Come on Doc, can't you narrow it down at all? At this rate we'll be out here until Christmas."
"Sorry Hitch, unless we get a few more clues we are just going to have to do it the old fashioned way. We'll just have to check out each possibility individually."
"If they didn't change directions." Troy huffed.
"If they didn't change directions." Moffitt repeated.
Hitch shook his head and turned to leave. "I'm going to take my meal and go eat with Tully. I have to take him something to eat anyway."
"If you see any crystal balls up there, pick it up, I'll take one." Troy called after his driver.
Hitch smiled and nodded. Picking up the two plates he had set aside, he headed up the slope of the dune to join Tully.
"Do you really want to take all of the mystery out of the world?" Moffitt teased.
"No," Troy admitted. "Not all of it. I'd settle for just knowing where that German force is hiding."
"We'll find it." The Brit answered with confidence. "I have faith in you."
They were finished with their meals and Hitch was packing up their mess kits when Tully called out. "Sarge!"
"What is it?"
"Company coming."
"A patrol?"
"No, too much dust for a patrol." Tully answered. "Either a convoy or a column."
"Well which is it?" Troy growled.
"Don't know Sarge, all I see is the dust." Tully replied.
"Oh for pete's sake!" Troy groaned. Grabbing a pair of field glasses from between the seats he ran up the slope to stand next to Tully. "Where?"
"Over there Sarge." Tully pointed off into the distance.
Troy could just make out the trail of dust kicked up by the moving vehicles, whatever they were. Amazed that Tully had spotted it at all, he refrained from commenting on the distance.
"We haven't found that German force yet; maybe we should go take a look." Lowering the glasses he checked his watch. "We'll check it out and if it turns out to be nothing we can still get to at least one of those possibilities we picked out."